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Home › Articles › General Health › A Guide to Thermometers

A Guide to Thermometers

What Thermometer Is the Best When Your Child Has a Fever?

By Melinda Copp

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Digital thermometers can be used to take rectal and auxiliary (under arm) temperature readings in infants, and oral temps when your child is old enough to put the thermometer safely in his mouth. When you take your baby's rectal temperature with a digital thermometer, and you do it properly, you will get an accurate reading, which is why your child's temperature will most likely be taken this way at your doctor's office and at the hospital.

Pacifier Thermometer
Giving a baby a pacifier is usually a breeze, which makes a pacifier thermometer a logical alternative for getting a temperature reading hassle free. These are usually made with the thermometer inside the nipple of the pacifier, with a digital screen on the front to show the temperature reading. However, according to Dr. Shubin, these aren't always accurate because many don't come equipped with alarm signals that tell parents when the reading is done and whether or not the thermometer has been in place long enough to get an accurate temperature. After all, pacifiers tend to slip out of busy little mouths.

Ear Thermometers
Also called tympanic or aural thermometers, ear thermometers often use infrared sensors to gauge body temperature, and they usually work quickly. However, ear thermometers have not proven to be accurate, and temperature readings may vary. Again, for toddlers and older children, a small degree of inaccuracy may not be that important. But for new babies accuracy is critical, so although sticking a thermometer in your baby's ear for a few seconds is definitely easier than the rectal method, it may not be the safest way to gauge your baby's body temperature.

Temporal Artery Thermometers
The latest member of the thermometer family is the temporal artery thermometer. This device gauges body temperature non-invasively with a scan of the forehead. And according to Marybeth Pompei, senior vice president and chief clinical scientist at Exergen Corporation, they are so gentle they can be used on a sleeping baby. And unlike many things in life, temporal artery thermometers don't seem to be too good to be true.


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