Rectal Thermometers, and When They Are Needed

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that the best way to take the temperature, for children younger than 3 years old, is with rectal thermometers.  Ear and oral thermometers seem to disqualify as their 100% accuracy is doubtful. Although rectal thermometers prove to be accurate by many scientists, ear thermometers are more popular.

There are two types of rectal thermometers, mercury and digital. Digital thermometers display the temperature on a small screen. Mercury thermometers are manually read as the mercury within the glass raises along side the measurement scale. You need to use lubricant when inserting the thermometer into the rectum and leave it in the rectum for a few minutes before getting an accurate reading. Rectal thermometers are more or less the same size as the Oral ones. Rectal temperatures don’t fluctuate that much so it’s said that oral thermometers are the most accurate. However, the discomfort patients feel is embarrassing at times. Non-contact thermometers promise a better deal and they are cheaper as they are now quickly spreading in the market. They are as accurate as rectal thermometers measuring the temperature in centigrade or Fahrenheit. They are also green or eco friendly since the probe covers don’t need to be used and therefore it creates less waste to the environment.

Taking your baby’s rectal temperature might be unpleasant, uncomfortable, and if not taken properly very painful to the baby. Studies have shown that temporal artery and tympanic thermometers are comparable in accuracy to rectal thermometers. Infrared ear thermometers, when taken properly, yield temperature measurements equal to those of rectal thermometers. The right position in the ear will assure its accuracy. Temperatures taken in the mouth and rectum don’t agree most of the time though. In spite of the rectal thermometer’s superiority, there are other options that promise to be more sanitary, such as the non-contact infrared thermometers. These thermometers    have the ability to detect temperature from a distance and require no touch in order to obtain an accurate reading.

Fever Thermometer History: from Mercury to Infrared

Back in 1888, an Italian patient chewed a thermometer anil, and swallowed most of it. Eventually, he was made to understand it was not medicine but intended for taking his body temperature… Weather you got the flu or your child’s temperature is soaring in the late evening hours, fever thermometers have proven to be effective throughout history.  There have been a group of great scientists who have contributed to the final product, the whole variety of thermometers we now have readily available in the market. From Galileo, in 1606 to Swedish astronomer, physicist and mathematician Anders Celsius (1701-1744) history takes us in an interesting journey from Mercury to Infrared.

Before Galileo the presence of fever was solely determined by palpation for warmth and pulse rate. Galileo invented a rudimentary water thermometer in 1593 allowing temperature variations to be measured for the first time. However, the first Mercury thermometer was invented by Gabriel Fahrenheit in 1714. In 1754 Antonius de Haen insisted that the thermometer should be used rather than to judge by the hand. However, he wasn’t that successful…

Yellow fever made its first appearance in New York in 1668. Reverend Samuel Megapolensis writes to a friend in a letter on September that very same year that God was somehow punishing people for their sins. By 1702 more than five hundred people of all ages had died of yellow fever. Luckily, Carlos Finlay discovered many years later in 1881 that a mosquito was a carrier of the deadly disease. In 1742, Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius reintroduced the centigrade scale. Nevertheless, it was neglected until the late 19th century. Thomas Clifford Allbutt designed, in 1866, a portable 6-inch clinical thermometer that was able to record the temperature in 5 minutes. The previous device took about 20 minutes to record the temperature.

We shouldn’t take for granted our modern thermometers that enable us to take our temperature in less than a minute.  In 1984, David Phillips invented the first infrared ear thermometer. The first commercialized infrared tympanic thermometer (FirstTemp and Genius brands) was invented by Gary O’hara in 1997, for which he was cited as Inventor of the Year

by the San Diego Patent Law Association. Unfortunately, scientists say none of the above thermometers is 100% accurate so probably new designs are on the way with more accuracy and manageability.

Pocket Thermometers, and Benefits of Using One.

Besides pens and pencils, there are other things we can carry in our pockets. The new digital pocket thermometers, for instance, fit perfectly in our pockets. They are easy to use and convenient. However, some of these thermometers contain mercury. Risks of breaking the glass or glassy surface and spilling the harmful contents are very high. Mercury is not only bad for the environment but a nuisance in human health. Some brands of pocket thermometers are: Pelouze, Weaber, Comark, Cooper Atkins, etc. Taylor, for example, has a whole variety of them: the Taylor Antimicrobial Instant Read, Taylor Classic Instant-Read Pocket, Taylor Dial Pocket Thermometer, and the Taylor lens pocket thermometer. The most popular pocket thermometers are used to measure surface and liquid temperature although some of them are for medical use as well.

There are also digital pocket-sized thermometers and non-contact pocket thermometers. The later seems to be more viable. Non-contact devices for measuring human temperature don’t seem to come in that size though, except for Vicks, who sales a pocket-size forehead thermometer: You move the prove across the patient’s forehead and instantly it beeps and give you the temperature reading. The digital version of the pocket-size thermometers is not hygiene as you have to touch the skin in order to take your temperature.

Next time you put something in your pocket, make sure you pick the right thing.  Non-contact infrared thermometers, although not in pocket size, promise more accuracy in the medical field, and in the food critical Danger Zone. They need a limited range for measuring temperature, and pride themselves on being distinctive and highly sanitary.