Does anyone have a good recommendation for a really accurate thermometer for reading fevers? I have used the digital under arm ones for my toddler girl, who is now almost 4, and most of them are not working correctly anymore. I also understand that the under arm one is a few degrees less than the internal body temperature, so it's not very accurate. I do not want to use an anal thermometer, but would be open to an under the tongue one (if she could hold it in that long), but I'm mostly interested in the new temporal scanner one that swipes across the forehead. Has anyone used it? Is it accuarate and worth the money? I know there are ear ones, too. Just looking for advise on the best brand...cost does not matter for something like this. Also, could it be used for an adult as well? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
I work at a pediatric office and we use the Welch Allyn Braun Thermoscan ear thermometer. The one we use is very expensive, about $290, but you can buy a similar model at Target for about $40. They work great and are very reliable, we've never had a problem with them, and I've used it on babies all the way up to adults. Good Luck!
We used to have an ear thermometer and finally pitched it because it was so inaccurate. We opted for the temporal thermometer from Sam's for $29. When we first tried it out I had my daughter (who is a little older) hold a digital oral one under her tongue and compared it to the temporal thermometer. They matched. That was not the case with the ear thermometer. The temporal thermometer also works well on adults.
Unfortunately, I will not be of any help to you but will be interested to see your responses. I have bought almost every type / brand of thermometer on the market in the past 7 years and have found not one to work consistently or accurately. I too would love to find a good thermometer as well, but I am tired of buying all the ones that don't work. Of the one's I have purchased they all can be used on adults as well as children, but again accuracy is the main concern. I have used the temporal with little accuracy, the ear one that worked great in the beginning and then went down hill, the under arm ones are just garbage and like you I refuse the rectal thermometers. I am to the point that I just can tell when my kids have a fever, but it would be nice to know what their temp really is.
Good Luck
I use a digital thermometer under the arm. This is what was used at the Stanford NICU, when a family member had a preemie baby (27 weeks). In that environment there is no room for error. This baby was too sick to be in an incubator because the seconds it would take to open it could be too long! I'm thinking if the digital under the arm wasn't the way to go, they wouldn't be going that way. :) I would suggest getting a new accurate digital thermometer and stick with under the arm. Just add one degree.
We just bought a temporal scan thermometer at costco for $28. I have heard a lot of great things about them so I wanted to try it. The reviews were great, but I haven't had a chance to it yet.
I totally agree with Mommydoodle -- I'm still looking for a good thermometer, too. I also won't do rectal and can't get my daughter to hold a digital under-the-tongue one in the right spot for enough time (although we're working on that). We tried the ear thermometer, but in my experience you've gotta get that "just right" -- and after a particularly bad ear infection my daughter won't let us near her with that anymore. So I got the temporal artery one -- with ours you have to swipe it across the forehead. At first I liked it, but it really does have to be "just right" which is hard to do on another person, I've found. With a wiggling toddler, it's hard to do the swipe without letting a little air underneath, which makes the reading inaccurate. Then last fall when my daughter was sick, even when I tried repeatedly and got a perfect swipe, I thought my daughter had a fever for over a week so took her to the doctor where they informed me, no she doesn't have a fever. So, as per the directions, I cleaned it with alcohol. But the readings remained the same -- with our temporal artery thermometer she had a fever, at the doctor's office she did not. So I'm frustrated with our options for thermometers, too. Now I just go by the glassiness of her eyes and her mood -- so scientific! And as I mentioned, I'm working on having her hold a digital one under her tongue -- so far I've tried distraction with TV and bribery to get her to hold it in the right place, with improving results :o) All of these, by the way, could be used for kids and adults. And sorry this probably doesn't help much -- it's more of a vent for me!
I have a forehead one for my kids. It works, but you have to do it _just right_. That being said, it only takes a few seconds and it's not invasive, so if you have to do it 5 times to get it just right, it doesn't tend to drive the kids crazy. I have heard that the ear ones are very unreliable.
I bet your 4 year old could hold it under her tongue if you got one of the expensive quick-reads ones. That would probably be the most accurate.
Good luck.
We purchased a temporal scanner for the forehead and it works great. Very easy and quick. With the one we have, you have to make sure it is flat on the forehead to get an accurate reading, but it only takes a second. We use it on our 4 year old and 5 month old.
I have a temporal one and I am so-so on it. It gives me an idea that my child has a fever (but I think most moms know this just by feeling and seeing your child). I don't think it is overly consistant. I can take the temp back to back and get different temps. I do think it gives me an idea if it is a high fever or low grade.
As someone else posted, I still don't feel there is the perfect thermometer. I feel like I have tried them all as well. The temporal one is the easiest to use thought....just not sure how accurate. They are not that expensive...I got mine at Costco and had a coupon.
The ear thermometers are great and accurate compared to the one our Pedi uses. We've had ours for 5 years and it still works great!
I was so frustrated with trying to get an accurate reading with the arm, rectal, and ear kind with my baby girl. I finally got a no-touch one from amazon. It's great. I will only use it from now on. It is the Kidz-Med 5-in-1 Non-Contact Thermometer.
I was given one of the ear thermometers, and I never did figure out how to get a good reading from it. We went back to the digital versions and never looked back.
We have an ear thermometer by Braun and couldn't be happier. We have had it for a few years and it is extremely easy to use, accurate, and SO quick! I have used it on my daughter since birth-now 4 yrs and myself. I would absolutely recommend it. I think it was $60+ when we purchased it 4+ years ago. Best of luck!
