A first-person YouTube monologue (recorded in Zagreb) where the speaker describes taking a COVID-19 PCR/rapid antigen test to meet travel requirements. The video compares PCR (results in ~24–48 hours) and rapid antigen (immediate/within minutes) tests, describes the clinic visit (appointment, ~10-minute wait, swab procedure counted to six), reports receiving an emailed certificate ~15 minutes after the rapid test, and reassures viewers that the swab is uncomfortable but not painful. The speaker also discusses practical timing problems when countries require PCR results within 72 hours before arrival and offers calming advice to travelers.
Questions this video answers
Zagreb, Croatia.
About €30 (paid by card on the spot).
About 10 minutes.
About 15 minutes after the test (initially in Croatian, then resent in English).
About 24 to 48 hours.
Good evening, my friends. I'm in Zagreb. This is my last evening, so I'm recording a few videos like this. I'm inspired. Today I'd like to talk to you about PCR tests. I took one. I took one today and I wanted to share my feelings with you. So why did I do it? I didn't do it for fun. I did it simply because it's now required for travel in many countries. Almost all countries in the world require a PCR test. So there are two types of tests. There's the PCR, which is a test that will take 24 to 48 hours to give you the result. And there's another test called a rapid antigen test. The name changes slightly from one country to another, but that's it. Here it's called a rapid antigen test. And this one, the answer, as it's indicated, the. The answer is given right away. That means that for me, for example, I took the test and 15 minutes later I received an email with a PDF attached that said, here is a negative result. It gives my name, my date of birth. So you have to go with an identity document and they take the name, because when you travel they require the certificate and the name is written in the passport, so you have to avoid spelling mistakes and all that. And then 15 minutes later, I received my certificate by email. So in terms of taking the test, whether it's the PCR or the rapid antigen test for the patient, it doesn't change anything. For you, it doesn't change anything. It will be exactly the same procedure. So there's no one that is easier or more comfortable than the other. The PCR is accepted everywhere. The rapid antigen test is accepted in some countries. So what does that really mean? That poses a problem, because the PCR test, they'll tell you that most countries require it 72 hours maximum before arrival in the country. How are you going to manage that? If you want to manage that, you'll see that it's very, very difficult, if not impossible, for some countries today to travel. Especially if you want to cover long distances. You have to make two or three stopovers, spend nights in airports, because direct flights have been canceled. If a country requires a test less than 72 hours old, and the test operator requires 48 hours to give the answer, that means that by the time you get the answer, potentially 48 hours have already passed. And at that point you only have 24 hours to reach the destination country. So it can be quite difficult, especially if, for example, a weekend falls in between, let's say the flight is on Monday. Let's say the flight is on Monday. So when do you get your test? On Saturday. But will the lab give you the answer on Sunday? Maybe not. Maybe they'll tell you, we'll get back to you on Monday. But maybe on Monday when you're there to register you. You don't have the email yet. Do you understand? So that's what makes the equation very difficult. I have to go to the United Kingdom. They accept rapid antigen tests. Actually, not everywhere. If I'm in London, it's accepted. But Scotland, for example, doesn't accept rapid antigen tests. So how does it work? And I'll tell you whether it's painful or not. So I went to the clinic. I made an appointment over the phone. I paid, I think, about €30 by card on the spot. Ah. I waited about 10 minutes outside. Huh? So outside with a mask on. When I arrived with two people in front of me. So it wasn't a big deal. And in fact, I went in. So there was a nurse in a small room. She was wearing a 3M mask like this, a gown and everything. Uh, she took my passport, took a form. She filled out the information, showed it to me correctly. I signed all that. I sat down on a seat.
Okay.
I told her something simple. I said, listen, I'm not here consenting to take a test for fun. I'm forced to be here. I have to go home. And to go home, they require me to take this test. I told her, I trust you, but I don't want to cough up blood for three days. Uh, so take it easy. I've seen videos online, and I'm worried. The mouse told me, no, don't worry. I've done this test on thousands of people. You won't feel a thing. She told me, I ask you for one thing. Don't move. Just don't move. If you move, you'll hurt yourself. So, okay, we have a kind of moral contract like that. That's what she told me. She told me she took a rod like this much longer, and then she opens a sterile thing, a sterile package like this. She opens it, she takes out a rod like this. A rod. And it's the same rod in any case, here in Croatia. Of course, details can change from one lab to another. But here in Croatia, for the PCR or for the rapid antigen test, they use exactly the same thing. These rods are just much longer. But that doesn't mean that she's going to push it all the way in. It's not because it's long. It's just to make it easier to hold. That's all. It's not to push it all the way in. So she told me the following thing. She said to me, it doesn't hurt. She said to me, it's uncomfortable, and I'll count to six and that's it. So she took it and counted to six. At the pace I'm going to give you. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 to 6. It was over. What she did was I felt the tip of the thing go into my nose. She didn't push, as you might imagine, all the way to the sinus. And it was against the sinus, against the exit of the olfactory tract. She turned. No, she didn't do that at all. She pushed. I couldn't tell you how far. I closed my eyes at that moment. Pushing, I would say maybe. I don't know. I can't tell. I wasn't looking. So I can tell you the feeling. She turned. I felt that she did that. She turned, she pulled out. It didn't hurt at all.
Okay.
I don't think it was a traumatic experience. A blood test hurts more. A catheter inserted into a vein hurts more. Anesthesia at the dentist hurts more. So honestly, it's nothing at all. Honestly, I want to tell you, I'm quite a wimp when it comes to medical procedures. So I just want to tell you I could have done five in a row. Nothing. Really. Nothing. Nothing at all. Ah, I went out. I thought, oh, that's it. So I went out, and a quarter of an hour later, I received my certificate. Initially, he sent it in Croatian by mistake. I replied, can you send it to me in English because it's for traveling. And a quarter of an hour later, the same certificate arrived in English, and that's it. So I'm telling you, like any medical procedure, sometimes. Speaking of blood tests, for example, I've dealt with nurses. Once, for example, there was one who literally stabbed me. Uh, I looked at the vein. So I have veins. I don't know if you can see them on camera, but. Well, with the light, maybe not really, but they're quite big. And it went into the vein. It came out. Came out of the skin. Do you know what I mean? So you can always come across bites. Uh, among medical staff, there's always a percentage of people who do the slightest gesture that's not even supposed to hurt, like removing a dressing. There are people who do it wrong. There are people who. You can always come across these people, unfortunately, dentists. It's the same. My dentist. I told you. Yes. It hurts less than a dentist's anesthesia. When my dentist gives me anesthesia, I can't tell when he's done the anesthesia. I don't know.
Okay.
I close my eyes. I hear him put his syringe on something made of metal. I know it's over, but I can't honestly tell you when he did it.
Okay.
There are people who are artists. There are others who are. But fortunately, the majority of medical staff are people who do very good work. You just have to communicate. Why did I communicate with the person in the first place? Why did I communicate with them? It's simply to create a human connection. Because it's a professional deformation. They tend to do the same gestures. The same gestures? The same gestures. They tend to dehumanize us. We're the ones who pass them by. I can understand a difficult day. She's been up for 12 hours. The same repetitive gestures. I come in with a speech and suddenly I create a different event in her life. She looks at me, keep me in name, we talk. And suddenly I become someone to her. I become a person to her instead of just being by.
Okay.
So there you have it. I just wanted to tell you that for people who I know I hate these tests and God knows I have a lot to say. Okay, if I start rambling, I'm going to tell you a lot. But the goal of the video was to very surgically talk to you about the tests and tell you the message that I want to get across to you. If you have to travel and you need to take a PCR or rapid antigen test, don't spend the night before. Don't spend the night before. Up panicking about it.
Okay?
It's not worth it. I prefer 10 PCR tests to a blood test, for example. Honestly, there's nothing wrong with it. Nothing bad.
Okay, that's it.
I wanted to tell you. I hope that reassures you. In any case, if you have had a similar or different experience, feel free to come and share it. But I know that at the beginning of this PCR test story last year in particular, there were some pretty horrible videos that circulated. And I think that many people didn't understand these tests, didn't understand how they worked. I know that there were people who suffered from these tests, but I think that now the profession is starting to get over it a little. People are starting to get the hang of it a little. Okay, that's what I wanted to tell you. See you soon. And have a good trip.
