Perhaps I will be guilty of showing my age, but I cannot recall the date that Dr. Google, Dr. Twitter, and Dr.Instagram became the go-to experts on all things health-related. Specifically, the cacophony of noise created by the pandemic of COVID-19. The amount of garbage these three “doctors” spew out daily, even hourly, regarding just this topic alone, is outrageous. If these “doctors” do happen to spit out (I will get back to this in a minute) some factual information, they leave it up to the layperson to disseminate fact from fiction. Honestly, when I was an intern these three world-famous “doctors” were yet to be born. My how fast they became experts.
This website: cdc.gov/coronavirus will give you the most updated/accurate information out there. However, I will warn you it will still leave you with a lot of questions. Why, you ask? The answer is
simple. This is a new mutation, not a lab-created pathogen according to the world renown Scripps Research Institute (Sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200317175442.htm) that we have known about since mid-December 2019, therefore information can and will change frequently for awhile. There just has not been enough time for study to give out exact and accurate answers to every question. The experts are using their knowledge of other Coronaviruses (SARS and MERS for example) along with what they are currently seeing and making educated guesses.
If you are using proper collection techniques (wearing gloves until specimen cup is in the biohazard bag and sealed, washing hands after removing gloves, and disinfecting any areas where urine may have come in contact with a surface) you have no more risk than anyone else of contacting coronavirus. As of right now, there is no evidence COVID-19 can be transmitted through urine. We do know this virus is transferred through respiratory droplets (thus my sarcastic reference to spit). It is not airborne, like measles. Not everyone who has the sniffles needs to be tested. Coronavirus has been around since the 1960s. COVID-19 is a new mutation.
Did you run to a doctor to be tested, or worse yet, to an emergency room last year when you had
the sniffles? Stop listening to Dr. Google or trying to interpret what a talking head said on TV in an attempt to keep you from changing the channel. If you have a real concern ask your health care provider.
The most recent information the National Lab Association I belong to has relayed to us is labs are being overloaded. Much of the early testing was unnecessary due to the fact the symptoms were not indicative of the virus and many came back negative. Doctors quickly learned to be more selective on who and what they test, dependent upon the symptoms and history presented. At this time, patients who are over 60, and individuals who have underlying chronic medical conditions and/or immuno-compromised condition, who present with a fever over 100, a persistent cough, and fatigue should be tested. Any person that knowingly has come in contact with someone who has COVID-19 should be tested. Trust the process. Oh, and since I neglected to mention earlier, stay away from Dr. Facebook as well!!
Thank you all for your business and please stay well.
Lance Benedict
President/CEO Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners
03/20/2020
