Non Contact Thermometers for Children
Newly expectant parents often get confused about childrens thermometers and what is the best way to take their minor’s temperature. not to mention the type of thermometer to buy.
In general, exclude for very young baby s, it actually isn’t that important. For these children under about three months old, a rectal thermometer used to be the most accurate way to check your child’s temperature. With the invention of the non contact children’s thermometers, all that has changed.
Even if you use a rectal thermometer to take your younger infant’s temperature, you should confirm it with another method, just to be safe. Small differences, even a half a degree, just might make the difference between a full sepsis workup with a spinal tap and a simple observational procedure when your 2 or 3 month old infant is running a fever.
For most other children, instead of worrying about which thermometer to use and whether you should add or subtract a degree, you should usually just use an infra-red based non contact thermometer to achieve the best results.
although parents may not believe it, the exact temperature is not usually what your Pediatrician uses to determine how to treat your child. With a temperature of just 99 degrees, your child may be deathly ill. And in many cases, children are acting just fine even thought they are running a temperature of 105 degrees. The degree and height of the temperature of fever doesn’t usually tell you how sick a child is.
The only very clear, undisputed information regarding all thermometer types is the testimonial is that you should no longer use mercury thermometers. The AAP recommend disposing of them because of the risk of mercury poisoning if they break. If you are still using a mercury thermometer, now would be a good time to pick out a replacement to check your child’s temperature when you think that they might have a fever.
Digital Thermometers
In addition to be able to take your child’s temperature rectally with a digital thermometer, most can also be used under their arm or in their mouth. In general, you can take a temperature rectally in an infant or tot and under their arm if they are over 3 months old. Once your child is 4 or 5 years old, you may look into the use of an oral digital thermometer. Keep in mind that an oral temperature is usually about 1/2 degree less than a rectal temperature.
consider that taking your child’s temperature under their arm (axillary thermometer) is probably the least accurate method and should usually be confirmed by another method if you detect a fever this way, especially in younger children.
Ear Thermometers
Tympanic or ear thermometers are very popular because they give a quick reading and are easy to use. You do have to justly place the ear thermometer into your child’s ear canal to get an accurate reading though, which can sometimes be tricky, and they likely won’t work if your child has a lot of earwax. And many people do not think that they are very accurate for children less than 12 months old. They are a good choice for most other children though.
Prior to the invention of the A digital oral thermometer is the best choice for an grownup or a child over age 3. Ear thermometers may work quickly but tend to be less precise than even oral thermometers, maybe because proper alignment in the ear canal can be tricky.
As parents, you should make sure that you trust the readings and feel comfortable using it, whichever thermometer you use. You might even take your child’s temperature 2 or 3 times to see if you are getting undifferentiated readings. Or debate taking your thermometer to your Pediatrician’s office at your next visit and compare the reading you get to the one that they record in the office. Should you do this, you may find that the best children’s thermometer is in fact the non contact thermometer variety.
