It’s important to be able to tell what your baby’s temperature is – babies have less control over their body temperature than adults. You can usually get a rough idea of a baby’s temperature just by touching their forehead or neck with your hand – don’t use the baby’s hands as a guide though as the temperature of the extremities can vary from body temperature due to environmental 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?
Traditional Mercury Filled Glass Tube Thermometers These are fine and are accurate. However, there’s always some risk of breakage and they require to be in position for a certain period of time to get an accurate reading. They need to be placed in the mouth, under the arm or in the rectum. None of these are ideal options if you have an agitated, agitated baby as a patient.
Digital Stick Thermometer Fairly similar to a conventional thermometer, but battery operated, manufactured from plastic – not glass – and with a digital read out. Put it under the baby’s arm for thirty seconds and you should get a pretty accurate reading with no operator error due to the digital readout.
Plastic Strip Thermometers These are simply held against your baby’s forehead and kept there for around 15 seconds. They change colour to indicate temperature. They are cheap, pretty easy to use and fairly accurate. However, it is possible to misread them. If there is perspiration on the baby’s forehead, then this can lead to an inaccurate reading.
Non Contact Scanning Thermometers Babies don’t like to be poked and prodded with strange objects anymore than the rest of us – so non contact thermometers are a really good option as they don’t make contact with any part of the body. They work by taking an infra-red reading of the skin temperature. At the temple, where the skin is thin, is a good place to take a reading. However, surface perspiration can still impact upon the reading’s accuracy. Typically this type of thermometer will have a digital display.
Ear Thermometers The ear gives a very accurate reflection of the body temperature – you should be able to get a quick and accurate temperature reading. Ear thermometers can be fitted with disposable caps which you can discard after use to keep things hygenic. Digital displays are the norm for this type of thermometer.
Any of the above types of thermometer will work just fine. Your choice will most likely depend upon your own personal preference.
A digital readout is a good option if you want to be sure of avoiding reader error.
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.
