Measure fever: This is how you do it right

Your child is suspected of having a fever – but you’re not 100% sure yet? Then you should take your child’s temperature first. Find out here which different clinical thermometers are available and how you can correctly measure your child’s fever.

Measure fever with the right thermometer

A thermometer is essential to accurately measure your child’s body temperature . It belongs in every medicine cabinet and is used to measure fever and monitor the course of fever. With today’s electronic devices, this is quick and easy. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions, then not much can go wrong with the measurement. Here is a list of the most common clinical thermometers:

  • Digital thermometer: The digital clinical thermometer, also known as an electronic or LCD thermometer, works via a sensor that records body temperature according to its electrical resistance. The digital thermometer is an inexpensive and above all accurate measuring instrument. In addition, there is an acoustic signal at the end of each acquisition.
  • Infrared clinical thermometer: The infrared thermometer measures the infrared radiation emanating from the forehead or the eardrum. A lens in the thermometer itself absorbs the radiation and converts it into a corresponding temperature reading. This clinical thermometer is now inexpensive and convinces above all with its speed, because the body temperature is recorded within a few seconds, which is why it is used more and more in doctor’s offices and hospitals to measure fever. The measuring accuracy of the infrared thermometer has also steadily increased over the years.
  • Mercury thermometer:The mercury thermometer is by far the oldest variant of the clinical thermometer. It is a glass tube filled with mercury. When heated, the mercury expands, rising inside the tube and showing a specific temperature value on a scale inside the cavity, which corresponds to body temperature. The sale of this thermometer in the health sector has been prohibited since 2009, as it poses a health risk due to the mercury it contains. If the glass capillary is damaged, mercury will leak out, which evaporates at room temperature and can cause severe poisoning if inhaled. There is also a risk that children will bite the thermometer in their mouth or under their tongue when taking their temperature,

Where on the body can you measure fever?

If you measure your child’s body temperature, you should always do this on the same part of the body and at about the same time of the day. This makes it much easier to compare the measurement results afterwards. In principle, however, the temperature can be checked at different parts of the body. Find out here which of them are particularly suitable for measuring fever.

  • Forehead: It is particularly easy to measure the body temperature on the forehead with a so-called forehead thermometer. The thermometer is simply held to the forehead. However, this is a fairly inaccurate way of measuring as skin temperature doesn’t quite match body temperature.
  • Ear (auricular): You can use an infrared thermometer to measure body temperature in the ear or on the eardrum. The measurement itself takes only a few seconds and is perceived as pleasant by children. The best way to insert the thermometer is to gently pull your ear to straighten the ear canal.
  • Mouth (oral, sublingual): With this type of temperature measurement, there is a risk that the child will bite the clinical thermometer. Glass thermometers are therefore not recommended at this point. You should make sure that your child has not eaten any cold or hot food beforehand, as this will falsify the result. Your child’s mouth should also remain closed throughout the measurement and the tip of the thermometer should always be under their tongue.
  • Armpit (axillary): Measurements taken in the armpit are inaccurate because they deviate greatly from the actual core temperature of the body. With this method of measuring fever, there can be differences of up to 1°C.
  • Buttocks (rectal): Not the most comfortable, but by far the most accurate method of measuring fever, since this is where you are closest to the core temperature of the body and not just the skin temperature. If your child finds this method particularly uncomfortable, talk to them and explain what you are doing. You can try to distract your child with a toy or a story. Then put some cream on the tip of the clinical thermometer and insert it carefully and not too far into the anus. Squeeze your butt to keep the thermometer from slipping out.

Your suspicion has been confirmed by taking the fever, then find out here  how you can lower your child’s fever, which  home remedies you can use to combat fever and  when a doctor’s visit is absolutely necessary .

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