How to give yourself a Covid-19 nasal swab test: gently. A nosebleed is unlikely despite Hong Kong actor’s ordeal

Social media posts of Hong Kong actor Wong He’s bloody nose and mask after a Covid-19 test on arrival in Taiwan shouldn’t put people off home testing

A Hong Kong doctor says nasal swabbing is seldom harmful and explains how to do it gently and effectively. If it causes a nosebleed, react as you would normally

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A health professional carries out a nasal swab test. Introduce the swab to your nose gently and stop when you meet resistance, a doctor advises. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 6:15pm, 5 Apr 2022Updated: 6:39pm, 5 Apr 2022

Fans of Hong Kong actor Wong He were left stunned by photos of him with a bloody nose and face mask posted on social media.

He wrote on his Facebook page on April 3 that he was “stabbed” in the nose during a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on his arrival in Taiwan.

“The assailant has since left the scene. Of those who are left behind, no one knows the assailant’s name, all they know is that she came from the hospital,” he wrote.

Best known for playing a firefighter in TVB’s Burning Flame series (1998 to 2009), Wong had landed at Taoyuan International Airport, where all travellers must have a Covid-19 PCR test on arrival.

After landing in Taiwan, Hong Kong actor Wong He wrote on his Facebook page, he was “stabbed” in the nose by a medical professional giving him a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for Covid-19. Photo: courtesy of Instagram

According to the actor, the medical professional who gave him the swab test used her right hand to push the cotton swab into his nostril while using her left hand to push the back of his head forward. When he recoiled in pain, he said she asked him to put up with it and assured him that she wouldn’t hurt him.