The day before Valentine’s day I wasn’t feeling like myself, but I didn’t really think anything of it. I just brushed it off thinking that all I needed was to get some more sleep. So I went to bed and once morning came I felt even worse. It hurt to swallow, my muscles were tense, and I checked my throat and seen some white/yellow puss covering my tonsils. I’m not fond of going to the doctor, in fact I rarely go for myself because I don’t feel like I need to burden them. Chances are what I think is a big deal, probably isn’t a big deal at all. {Of course I don’t follow this rule when it comes to my kids being sick, especially if it’s something with them having a sore throat.. anyways back on topic.}
Some symptoms of Strep throat are but not limited to:
- Sudden Sore throat without coughing.
- Pain when swallowing.
- Fever.
- White or yellow spots covering your tonsils.
- Muscle tension.
So when my mom told me that Shopper’s Drug Mart has this strep test screening thing, I was eager to go and give it a try. Most Shopper’s Drug Mart pharmacies have it, you just need to ask the pharmacist if they can do a Strep Test. It will cost you fifteen dollars and it’s not covered by health care, but you don’t have to wait around in the doctor’s office or wait several days to get your results. It’s perfect for people who have a busy schedule or someone with kid(s) that doesn’t want to sit in an office with their child(ren). What they do is they explain the symptoms of Strep throat, and they ask you if you’ve got similar symptoms. If you agree to proceed with the strep test they will bring you into a private area, so that they can do the throat swab. They set everything up and will swab your throat (just like at the doctor’s office) then they mix some stuff together and drip it on to a special strip. They set a timer and tell you they will give you the results in about 7-8 minutes. Once you get told your results you will get a sheet explaining what test they did and what your results are. If your positive for strep throat you can either see if there’s a prescribing pharmacist on duty, that can prescribe something for your strep throat. Or you can bring your strep throat test result sheet into your doctor’s office. If your results are negative you likely only have something viral, but you should go check in with your doctor either way. The pharmacist with ask you for your family doctor’s name so that they can send the results to him/her.
This strep test is new and they are looking to get feed back from the people who get it done. You don’t get your fifteen dollars back, but if you fill out the survey online 7-14 days after you’ve got your swab done (the instructions are printed on the back of the sheet you are given by your pharmacist); they will send you a 15$ Shoppers Drug Mart gift-card in the mail. Keep in mind that it may take a couple of weeks for you to receive it, I personally just received mine in the mail today. I’m not sure what locations offer this, so it’s probably best to call before you go in.
Attention:
I am NOT a doctor, nor do I claim to be this is just my opinion and personal experience. This is not a sponsored post.
Have you ever done the strep throat test? If you have what did you think? If you haven’t would you consider doing it?