Wow i feel like a real IDIOT but... We just found out that our son has Kidney reflux and need to really watch out for fevers now and I have realized I dont really know the most accurate way to take a temperature. I have heard alot of advice (all contradicting) I have a ear temp thing that i love but was told it is not as accurate..Is rectal the ONLY accurate way?
Thank you everyone for your advice and support! I think I will stick with axillary and if I doubt it I will go with rectal. Hopefully I won't have many times to have to do this this year!
Rectal is the most accurate and usually small babies don't mind too much. Also you can take it under the arm would be second choice. Ear thermometers are not for children under 1 because their ear canals are too short and it is not accurate. Most Ped's offices recommend rectal (I am an OB RN.)
If your baby doesn't freak out. Maybe you could take both ear and rectal. They say Rectal is the most accurate way, but try both and see what comes up. It could both be as accurate as the other. Hope this helps.
S.:
I am sorry about your son.... Yes, the most accurate way to take a temperature is rectally - you may be able to ask your ped to demonstrate how to properly do it.
you need a rectal thermometer a bit of vasoline and insert gently.
P., RLC, IBCLC
Parenting Coach and Board Certified Lactation Consultant
I know I am late on this one and you probably have this well figured out by now, but my son was a preemie and we had to take his temp 5 times a day. It was always done under the arm, and is done so in all NICU's. Their little tushy's can tear from a rectal therm. But there is a technique for the armpit. The silver bit has to be directly in that pit. Rectal is just as accurate, but it is invasive and uncomfortable. Armpit is the way to go.
yes rectal is the most accurate. Make sure you buy a rectal thermometer too, not just an oral/mercury one. If I remember correctly, ear is one of the least accurate, other than the armpit.
Best of luck to you and your baby.
~L.
Well, I see that I disagree with the other posters here.. but I graduated from nursing school not too long ago and we were told that taking a rectal temperature is not recommended so much because it is invasive, traumatic, and while it does give a core temp, it is not necessarily a more accurate measure of a fever. There is a risk of anal perforation (small, but there) and it can be traumatic to the skin as well as making the baby unhappy. An accurate temp is one that is taken using proper technique. There is a proper temp range for each part of the body used for measuring temperature with a normal temp taken rectally being higher than an armpit.
For instance in L & D we take newborn's temps in the armpit (axillary). We do it this way because it is less invasive and we know the range of normal temp values in the armpit, which is lower than rectal but not WRONG, just different. So I know I am probably not explaining this clearly but if you know that your son's armpit temp is usually 98.5 and one day it is 99.5 you know that he is running a low-grade temp. If you took his rectal temp as well it would be slightly higher because it is a core body temp, but it is not a more accurate way to take the temp... just always slightly higher because it is core body temp.
I would ask your son's doc's office nurses how they take an axillary temp. Learn the technique (it's very easy) and take his temp every day to get it down and understand his baseline. Then you can take a temp if you suspect and issue and know exactly how it stands and how you compare.
Many hospitals use ear thermometers as well and I have heard they are less accurate as well, but they are still commonly used.
Good luck.
I've heard from an ER nurse that rectal is the most accurate. I personally have been doing the under the arm temperature, but recently we got the ear thermometer. I'm not sure how accurate either of those are though..I just heard that if you do under the arm, to add a degree. Our daughter went through that also..luckily after tests we found out that she didn't have any reflux, and that the fluid around her kidneys should be going away on it's own. Good luck!
I have always been told that that is the most accurate way. It's not really as bad as you think it will be. Just use lots of Vaseline and they barely even notice it.
Yup, it really is. The ear and temporal ones will give temperatures that are 1 or more degrees different even a minute apart.
We bought a quick-read (10 sec) thermometer specially designed for rectal use. It has a short "probe" end, and a wider base so you can't insert it too far. We also use disposable probe covers (they are sold near the thermometers in the pharmacy dept of most stores) to keep the whole thing a little more sanitary. Use plenty of vaseline. Our 20 month old barely fights it, and that's only if she's in a mood. It really isn't that bad.
