Thermometers

RussianMommy · December 2012

Ear or rectal??? Some moms on the April board said ear theometers were not accurate. If it's calibrated correctly it should work, no?? Right now I have a safety first ear thermometer on my registry. Do I need a rectal one too or instead?

ladybugpjb · December 2012

I read and was told that rectal is more accurate. At the doctor, the nurses used the ones that they swipe across the forehead, but then the doctor wanted the rectal one time when DS was sick.

emibat85 · December 2012

I've always used a rectal thermometer for DD. I wanted the reading to be as accurate as possible.

jeng329 · December 2012

I have the temporal one (swipe across the forehead) and I use at with DS now. It may not be as accurate but it gives me an idea how high the fever is.

When DS was a baby, I only used the rectal, because that's all I had. This time, I will use the temporal, and if I he does have a fever and it is higher than 101, or so, I'll use rectal to be more accurate.

Momma2Michelle · December 2012

Temporal, our pediatrician recommended it.

heavenpaige · December 2012

i dont think that ear ones are accurate either. (especially for baby/kids). rectal is more accurate as far as hospitals are concerned but i also like the ones that you rub across their forehead. (these are accurate also and easy when the baby is sleeping. (we had a home nurse that used it for our ds)

emenninga · December 2012

Rectal is recommended. I keep both on hand. If they are 4 months and under i automatically do rectal. After that i do ear and if it comes back elevated ill do a rectal.

ASmallWonder · December 2012

I think ear are least accurate, temporaral next best but for an infant, yes, have a rectal on hand. It's the most sensitive and in a newborn, the tiniest difference can be a big deal. When they get a tiny bit older you can always start with the temporal and if that comes back elevated you can follow up with a rectal for the truest reading.

hogrefea · December 2012

Long ago, when I was in nursing school (about 10 years ago, ahhh!) I did tons of research on this. What I discovered was that rectal was best up to 1 year. However, as a Mama, I did rectal until 6 months and then went with temporal. I love our Exergen Temporal thermometer and it has been used and abused for nearly 4 years and still works great!

AFBTB · December 2012

I have always used an ear thermometer on DS. If he feels overly hot to me I'll take him to the Dr, or the ER and they'll get a more accurate reading. But I've never been a fan of using a rectal thermometer because it just seems too invasive to me. There's a reason DS screams and cries when the Dr does it.

ASmallWonder · December 2012

AFBTB:
I have always used an ear thermometer on DS. If he feels overly hot to me I'll take him to the Dr, or the ER and they'll get a more accurate reading. But I've never been a fan of using a rectal thermometer because it just seems too invasive to me. There's a reason DS screams and cries when the Dr does it.

I really think getting on board with taking a rectal temp when needed is preferable to going to the doctor or ER so THEY can get a more accurate temp, kwim? It's not really that invasive. You put the teeny tiny tip in their but. You rough them up more cleaning a nasty shitt off their ass

RussianMommy · December 2012

Why are the ear ones not accurate??

sware2010 · December 2012

RussianMommy:
Why are the ear ones not accurate??

Holding a tympanic (ear) thermometer at slightly the wrong angle or even having wax in the ear can cause a falsely low temp. Otherwise, as pp said, it isn't as close to the core. The children's hospital where I work doesn't even carry them.

RussianMommy · December 2012

what age do you stop using a rectal one and use a different one?

looks like the place I'm registering at only carries ear ones and then they have this kit that includes a rectal/under arm thermometer, nose aspirator and room/bath thermometer - should I place that one on the registry instead?

Ceefome · December 2012

We have a thermometer that has 3 interchangable tips - Rectal, underarm, and oral. The rectal tip is shaped so you can't place it too deeply. Another bonus to having a rectal thermometer around - if you're dealing with constipation, one thing to try is taking a rectal temp. Sometimes that helps gets things moving.

Thermometers

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