Many people ordering lateral flow tests (LFTs) should now be receiving the newer kits which only require a swab from the nasal area - a change that many people have welcomed.
This differs to the previous test kits where both a throat and nasal swab were required to test.
But despite the covid at-home testing kit only requiring a nasal swab, one doctor has said that they should ignore these instructions and do both regardless.
Taking to TikTok, Dr Karan Rajan, an NHS general surgeon and honorary clinical lecturer at the University of Sunderland replied to a video where a woman claimed that the omicron variant lives more in your throat.
And according to the doctor, who has been featured in several NHS videos, this is actually correct.
Explaining the reasoning behind this, Dr Rajan said: "Omicron is different to the other variants and the symptoms start earlier.
"So there's a chance the virus isn't yet growing in the nose when you first test - it may be starting further down.
"If you're using a lateral flow test, make sure you swab your throat as well as the nostrils. Getting samples from both areas can increase the sensitivity of the test.
"There have been multiple cases now where people are testing negative with nose-only samples but then testing positive when they add in a throat sample."
Due to the new LFT instructions, one person took to the comments and asked: "Some lateral flow kits just say nose, some say nose and throat. I don't understand why they need to be different?"
The NHS surgeon responded: "I'd just do both regardless of instructions" and later stated in another reply that both swabs were "standard at the beginning of the pandemic, not sure why that went away."
Another social media user also took to the comments of his video and added: "Thanks to TikTok after three negative tests I swabbed my throat and I am in fact positive and so is my whole family."
