A doctor has taken to social media to bust myths around Covid-19.
Dr Karan Rajan, NHS surgeon and lecturer, has accumulated an impressive following of 4.5 million after using TikTok to reveal medical truths to the general public.
As Omicron continues to spread through Scotland, the public are being strong urged to take lateral flow tests before venturing to shops, pubs and meeting up with other households.
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But people are also posting videos and images showing that liquids such as juice and water are making the second line appear on the lateral flow tests.
On TikTok there have been 7.5 million views of videos relate to 'fake covid positive test result trick' and children have reportedly been trying to use it to skip school
Dr Rajan has now explained why this happens, busting the myths that the tests are faulty or providing false Covid-19 results.
On his video he takes apart a lateral flow test and explains that the strip in the test has two sections, a grey box and the white part that contain antibodies that are sensitive to the Covid-19 virus.
This is why the second line shows up if you have Covid.
However, the doctor then poured an orange liquid onto the strip.
He adds: "If you use things like soda, tap water and fizzy drinks, that's going to provide an altered PH which will affect the function of the antibodies on the test line."
"That why you need to use a buffer solution that will actually make the test work."
The buffer solution Dr Rajan holds up is the solution found in the lateral flow kits that the swab goes into.
Mark Lorch, a professor of science communication and chemistry at the University of Hull, wrote in the Conversation, and pointed out that it is possible to prove a 'fake positive' test. By washing it with a buffer solution, the pH is restored and the fake positive line will disappear.
