How To Accurately Measure Your Baby’s Temperature
Babies don’t have the same control over their body temperature that adults do – so it’s important to be able to accurately tell what your baby’s temperature is. Simply touching you hand against your baby’s forehead or neck will give you a rough idea – but don’t use the baby’s hands as a guide – the temperature of the extremities can be quite a bit different to body temperature just as a result of ambient conditions.
This is just a rough guide of course. Sometimes that will suffice, but there will be other occasions when you will want a more accurate measurement. Using a thermometer of some type would be the obvious solution – but which of the variety of thermometer types available is best for you and your baby?
Conventional Glass Tube Mercury Filled Thermometers These are very accurate – but there’s always some risk of breaking and they do require to be kept in place for a minimum time period in order to obtain a good reading. They require to be placed under the arm, in the mouth or in the rectum. Any of those positions could be somewhat difficult if you have an unhappy, fractious baby as the patient.
Digital Stick Type Thermometer Pretty similar to a traditional thermometer – but battery powered and manufactured from plastic instead of glass. It also has a digital read out which will minimise the possibility of reading error. Stick one of these under the baby’s arm for about thirty seconds and you should obtain an accurate reading.
Plastic Strip Contact Thermometers Hold these against your baby’s forehead for about fifteen seconds and the plastic strip type thermometer changes colour to indicate temperature. They are easy to use, cheap and reasonably accurate. It is possible to misread them however. If there is sweat on the baby’s forehead then this can impact upon the accuracy of the reading.
Non Contact Scanning Thermometers Nobody likes being poked or prodded when they’re ill and babies are no exception. So non contact scanner thermometers are a great option since they don’t require to touch any part of the body. They use infra-red (perfectly harmless) to take a reading of the skin temperature. Points where the skin is thin – such as the temple for example – are good points to take readings. Surface perspiration can still reduce the degree of accuracy obtained.
Ear Thermometers The ear is considered to give the most accurate reflection of the body’s core temperature and should give you a fast and accurate reading. Most ear thermometers come with disposable caps which you put over the tip and then throw away after each use to make it hygienic. Digital readouts are normal and negate any user error.
Any of the aforementiond types of thermometer will work perfectly well. Which one you select will depend upon your own preference and circumstances.
If you want to minimise the possibility of reader error, then a thermometer with a digital display probably makes a lot of sense.
An ear thermometer – or a non contact infrared thermometer – is a good choice if you want to avoid upsetting your baby.
From the point of view of accuracy, the ear thermometer type is the best choice.
All thing considered – the ear thermometer may very well be the best choice for both you and your baby.
Find out if an ear thermometer makes sense for both you and your baby.