When To Get Tested for COVID-19 (and other FAQs)

If you feel like you have the flu, you could actually have symptoms of COVID-19. So should you get tested or not? And if so, when?

Ranjit Grewal, MD, and our compassionate team at Houston Family MD in Cypress, Texas, understand your concerns, and we care about your health. We’re here to answer your questions and make sure we help your family avoid illness and stay well.

Right now, we follow the recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine your candidacy for COVID-19 testing due to limited test availability. To know if you need testing, you first need to understand COVID-19 symptoms.

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

Before you request a test for COVID-19, evaluate your symptoms. 

They include:

• Coughing
• Difficulty with breathing
• Fever
• Sore throat
• Muscle aches
• Chills
• Sudden loss of smell or taste

Diarrhea, vomiting,and nausea are other possible signs that you have COVID-19. 

Who can get tested for COVID-19?

The CDC advises prioritized testing for specific individuals. The severity of your symptoms, your profession, and where you live determine the urgency for testing. 

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested if you’re hospitalized for any reason or if you are a:

• Health care worker
• First responder
• Resident of a long-term care facility or prison

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 but don’t fit these categories, you can call our office, and we can talk with you to determine if you need to get a test.

What if I test positive?

If you get tested, and your results come back positive, we recommend that you treat the coronavirus as you would other common viral infections, such as the common cold, flu, or bronchitis. 

You should stay home, rest, stay hydrated, and take acetaminophen to relieve your fever and aches, if needed. We can give you specific instructions to follow to ensure you’re practicing the proper care to get well.

How can I avoid COVID-19?

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the CDC have guidelines to follow to help protect yourself and others from getting or spreading COVID-19:

• Stay six feet apart from others
• Wash your hands often
• Cover your nose and mouth with a mask or face covering
• Cough or sneeze into a tissue and throw away the tissue
• Clean touchable surfaces daily

Your concerns about COVID-19 are valid. COVID-19 can cause death, and that’s why it’s dangerous. Although it’s too soon to collect accurate data, researchers believe COVID-19 could produce more deaths than the flu. 

Dr. Grewal and our team care about your questions and your health. If you’d like to talk with one of our medical professionals about testing for COVID-19 or any other concerns, call our office at 281-477-0525 or request an appointment online today.