Dangers of Mercury Thermometers

Mercury Thermometer

Mercury is found in thermometers, thermostats, fluorescent lamps, barometers and car switches. It’s extremely dangerous. Mercury slowly evaporates when exposed to the air. Air in a room can reach high levels of contamination just from a few drops of mercury contained in a glass thermometer. If the thermometer breaks, mercury vaporizes and can be inhaled, causing toxicity. Symptoms of mercury poisoning might include muscle weakness, problems walking, lack of coordination of movements, speech impairment, skin rashes, mood swing, memory loss, mental disturbances, impairment of peripheral vision, hearing loss, etc. Mercury has been linked to many different diseases, including autism, learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, depression, and bipolar disorder.

Non-mercury glass, digital, and electronic thermometers are now available. These new thermometers, specially the infrared non-contact thermometers, give accurate temperature readings without having to expose the patient to such dangerous substance. Mercury must be disposed properly. Traditional methods such as vacuum cleaner, broom, flushing mercury down the toilet, placing unsealed mercury in trash, and washing clothes contaminated with mercury might only help to spread contamination. Always wear gloves when disposing mercury.  Collect mercury pieces by using a small paintbrush. Place mercury and cleaning supplies in a bag and seal for disposal.

Infrared Thermometers

Infrared technology is supplanting the traditional way families take temperature in America and around the world. Most homes today don’t have mercury thermometers any longer. Oral, ear, and anal thermometers are also becoming old-fashioned as most people seem to prefer the non-contact or touch free alternative infrared technology now offered. The infrared technology has been in the market for more than 25 years, used in the ear, oral, anal and other types of thermometers. However, these thermometers required contact with the body one way or another. At present, this technology is taking fever monitoring to the next level by introducing non-contact or touch free thermometers. These devices scan your body temperature from the right temple in less than a second. They also speak temperature readings in multiple languages.

Medical Thermometers

Thanks to the rapidly advancement of technology we are now able to prevent our children’s health from deteriorating  and have a better understanding of what’s going on before taking them to the doctor. Most of us try equipping ourselves with the best tools available in the market to prevent our families from getting sick. Since we are concerned about the health of our loved ones we should provide them with a good medical device.

Medical thermometers are number one health devices in our modern homes. Health thermometers have one mission and that is detecting the presence of fever. Fever is one of the most common symptoms in many types of diseases and infections. Medical thermometers are used to take oral, axillary, vaginal or rectal temperatures. For oral thermometers patients hold the thermometer in his/her mouth.

Patients coughing or vomiting and also patients who have drunk hot or cold liquid will not have an accurate temperature reading. Rectal thermometers require lubricant such as petroleum or jelly in order to take the temperature properly. Patients might feel a little uncomfortable going through this process. That’s why in many cases this process is only administered to young children. Mercury thermometers are still used in some countries today but they aren’t as popular as they used to be. They have been banned from most countries since they contain mercury, a very dangerous substance patients are exposed to each time a glass thermometer breaks. These thermometers should be avoided.

Thermomedics for Professionals.

To stop patient cross-infection, disposable single used thermometers have become an option in some clinics and hospitals today. However, the infrared technology is becoming a more viable option. There are infrared non-contact thermometers in the market now. Non-contact thermometers use harmless infrared technology and lower the risk of germ transfer to others.  Temperature readings can be taken without touching the skin. You simply move the thermometer close to the forehead and it will scan the temperature for you.