The Process of Getting my Baby Tested for Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Recently my son was tested for Coronavirus (COVID-19). My son is almost one year old and needs to have a procedure done that really can’t be put off any longer. He is okay, it’s nothing major, but it is something that if he doesn’t get taken care of now it could cause problems in the future. Before his surgery, it is required that he gets the nasal swab test done for COVID-19. If he tests positive for the virus his surgery will be postponed. Our son appears to be healthy and isn’t showing any of the typical signs of the illness. The process of getting my baby tested for COVID-19 was quicker, easier, and less traumatic than I thought it would be.

1. A nurse from the children’s hospital called us to schedule a time and place to get the testing done. 
2. The nurse then provided us with a number to call once we are parked at the hospital’s emergency parking lot.
3. When we called the number we informed the nurse that we were here to get a COVID-19 nasal swab test done on our infant. She provided instructions for us on where to drive and park our car for the testing.
4. We parked our car right in front of the emergency department entrance. I took my son out of his carseat and held him on my lap.
5. Two fully don with personal protection equipment RNs came out right away to our car window. 
6. They talked us through the test and answered any of our questions before proceeding.
7. I leaned my seat back and held my son’s arms on his chest. My husband held my son’s head still. The nurse put a very thin (a special small sized nasal swab for pediatric patients) into his nose. The swab was almost angel hair pasta size in width. She pushed the swab about 3-4 inches into his nasal passage, counted to 5 while gently rotating it, and then proceeded into the other nostril. 
8. Then it was done!

My son cried and was in discomfort but he immediately stopped crying when she removed the swab at the end. The nurse said that some patients experience nose bleeding for up to 20 minutes. This is because the nose is very vascular and can bleed more easily from trauma. Thankfully our baby didn’t experience any nose bleeding! Afterwards I nursed him in the parking lot to make sure he was calm before we placed him back in his carseat to go home. He coughed some on the drive home and rubbed his nose a few times but he didn’t cry and was acting like his usual self.

I did give my son some tylenol to help with any discomfort, but he seemed to be fine because he napped extremely well right when we got home. For the rest of the day and into the next, he did rub his nose from time to time. Overall though, he was only slightly more fussy.

I have to be honest, I was so nervous and upset about this test leading up to it. I thought it looked extremely painful and went into mamabear mode. It was difficult to find much of anything on the internet explaining the COVID-19 testing process for infants so my anxiety was running wild. However, the whole process and experience was much easier and less traumatic than I thought it was going to be. If you or your child have to be tested for Coronavirus I hope this helps ease your nerves!

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