Let me start this off by saying I have no pain tolerance. When I was younger, I would cry over scraping my knee lightly or stubbing my toe; when I found out I had to get tested for coronavirus after a couple of days with an intermittent cough and shortness of breath, I thought it would be rough and prepared for the worst. To my surprise, it was nothing like I expected and I am hoping to ease the fears of other people who possibly will have to endure the same test at one point.
One thing I will note is that I have not gotten my results back and do not have a definite time period of when I will receive those results so I currently have no answers on what happens if you receive a positive result.
While testing is more widely available than it was two months ago, trying to get tested was still a bit of a process. I had to schedule a video call with a doctor in order to qualify for a test performed by a practice near me, and after telling the doctor my symptoms and him hearing my cough, he referred me to get tested the next day. This was a drive-through test so when I arrived there was already a long line of cars there and even though there was no sign that said "Coronavirus Testing", everyone was wearing masks in their cars.
After about a 30-minute wait which was filled with anxiety and dread, I pulled up to where they were going to do the test and was told to roll down my window. The medical professional took out the testing device, started counting to 3, and I readied myself for the worst.
When he inserted the testing swab up my nose, I was expecting blood to come gushing out and to start crying but to my surprise, it tickled and I couldn't stop laughing. My left eye did tear up, however, while I was laughing and he thought I was sobbing and promised that it would be over soon even though he continued for the next 45 seconds. It is such a weird sensation because while it is not painful, the feeling of the swab rolling around puts a lot of pressure on a sensitive part inside your nose which gives you the feeling that you need to sneeze, which I did about five times in a row afterwards.
When it was over, I was in disbelief that I hadn't cried in pain and spent the whole ride home so happy that my nose didn't bleed because I didn't have any Kleenex in my car and was prepared to have to surrender my shirt for the cause. After getting home, I went back into my room to quarantine, where I will remain until I get a hopefully negative result.
My takeaway from this is that if someone who has zero pain tolerance can come out of getting tested feeling fine, then no one should be afraid to get tested. Testing is an essential part of combating the coronavirus; while it is uncomfortable, the results could save the lives of those around you. The same statement could be applied to wearing a mask in public and if more people were to follow that guideline the spread in this country wouldn't be as bad as it is. I wear a mask every time I work or go out in public and I still managed to possibly get it because people who I come in contact with who don't wear masks could be asymptomatic and spreading the virus rapidly.
Please stay safe and hopefully, you won't have to encounter getting tested anytime soon.