Taking Temperatures

I have a 3 and a 1 year old and LOVED our first ear therm. b/c you could silence it and it had a little light so we founf it extra easy to take our sons temp while he was sleeping in the dark. Totally awesome, but it got a scratch on the senser and had to be replaced. Of course, as our luck runs we couldn;t find that one again, so we just have a regular ear therm i believe its by Braun. It doesn't havethe fancy light and what stinks about it is you have to bring it into the light to read the temp. But, we've not had much troouble with getting an accurate reading. i bring it to the dr. with me and I take my sons temp right after they do to make sure mine ins reading correctly. You could always take it with you next trip and have them how you how to use itproperly just so you know you are. I bought the forhead one and those readings are all over the place. that therm is in our box ofr next springs garage sale!

hello. I sometimes have this problem, but like you said how you do under the arm and take the highest. i normally do it about 2 or 3 times if i think the reading is to low for how warm i think he is. but i was reading the other day that the best and most accurate thermometer is the rectal one. i have never tried that on my son because i dont think he would sit still long enough. and the forhead ones i read that they are way expensive and you have to do it in the exact right spot for it to work. the ear one is not accurate because parents dont know the right angle and how far to put it in to get an accurate read. i hope this might have helped, and if not sorry for rambling. hope she feels better soon. my son just got over this too, ran fever for 2 days then on the 2nd night he threw up and was all better. so good luck!

Our body temperatures normally fluctuate throughout the day, but if she has a fever, it shouldn't be varying that much between close readings. Assuming that your thermometer is working correctly, here are some things that might help:

Keep in mind that if the thermometer is cold when you begin, the cold from it will lower the first reading--and it will cool the spot on her tongue or skin where you placed it, too, so even if you take another temp right after, it may not be an accurate reading. This is especially true for oral thermometers. (Same thing if the child had any food or drink within a few minutes before, of course--the heat or cold of the food/drink will change the reading).

Ideally, wait about five minutes before taking a second reading.

I also usually hold the metal part in my hand for a few seconds to warm it up when I first get it out of the cabinet, and I usually only get slightly varied readings (maybe a 0.4 difference or so).

Also, if it upsets her when you take her temp, especially more than once, her struggling or crying will raise her temperature slightly (increased heartrate).

You'll also get different readings if you take it right when she wakes up (lower temp) and then again in a half hour or so after she's been awake (body temp will raise as her body "wakes up" from sleep).

It will also be different before and after you've been holding her for a little while, or if she slept next to someone (you, a sibling, a pet, etc.), as opposed to sleeping alone.

FYI: I learned this stuff when charting my own temps when we used NFP. ;-)

HTH!
--A.

I use the ear thermometers and just don't consider it a real fever unless it's over 99 because they can be inaccurate but if their fever is over 99 then I usually give them tylenol but most of the time when they do go to the doctor if I take them right away after checking their temp it will be similar so it usually is pretty accurate. I just don't consider them really sick unless it's showing over 99 and usually you will find with an ear infection that the infected ear will be higher than the other ear so check them both when you do check for a temp.

You are not the only mom who can't take a temperature! I thought I was! I've been wondering if it's me, or if I need ANOTHER thermometer... We have an ear one - which the readings are all over the place. I take it several times, I follow the instructions and pull up on the ear, and point it down in the ear as far as I can - which my kids hate, but still don't get a consistent temp. We have a digital one that I think is decent, but on it sometimes the temp keeps going up even after it beeps. I've been wondering if we could get one like the dr. office has...

You are not the only one. I very rarely take a temperature of a child. I have not found a consistent way to get a good temp either. In my opinion, the best way is to just feel the forhead and then the back and the feet. If they are hot in all 3 places and they don't feel good, they likely have a temp. What's the info really for anyway? If you call the doctors office they will ask how high the temp is. But if you give them any fever reducer, then they are not getting a precise reading anyway. The fever becomes masked and after that I prefer to give the next dose of meds about 15 minutes before the 4 or 8 hours is up so that the fever won't come back in full force.

I have raised 4 daughters and taken care of a few hundred children and never found the exact temp to be of much value. I suppose that most providers want to know the second that a child's temp reaches 101 so they can send them home. I have never had any parent quibble over the exact temp. If I say they have a fever and other symptoms too, then they come and get them. But that's a very RARE occurance because most children seem to show fevers at night and just not come to daycare or, unfortuneately, some parents will give the 8 hour children's motrin and then by the time I figure out they have a fever, they are about to go home anyway.

Just pay really close attention to his breathing and make sure he is getting fluids. If your mom instincts think he needs to be seen, just do it :)

I am an expert at taking temperatures, jk. When my 4 year old was 15 months he started having febrile seizures. In case you have no idea what that is, its a seizure that is triggered by fever. So every time he had a fever, he actually would go into a seizure. So, of course, I experimented with thermometers. I tried the one that goes across the forehead, and I did not like it at all. So I went and bought an ear thermometer and tried it and liked it. The reason people say it gives you an inaccurate reading is because you have to make sure you put it far enough in the ear but not too far. Every time I go to the doctors office I would check his fever with my thermometer and compare it to their reading and it was the same. Its just my opinion but I really like my ear thermometer.