Which one is more accurate? The ear thermometer says my temperature is 100.7. The oral thermometer says I have a temperature of 98.5.
Is my temperature normal, or do I probably have a fever?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Try your other ear. Seriously.
Ear thermometers have a high level of incorrect readings. An angle that is off slightly, wax, and other things can make the reading be "off."
However, if you get the same reading in both ears, it's usually correct.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
That was for both ears. Sorry to not have made that clear in the first place.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
I thought this was another "fight" thread, you know--Kirk vs Picard, Captain Jack vs Legolas, Ear Thermometer vs Oral.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Dunno. Do you feel sick?
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Well...somewhat. However, my symptoms are pretty vague--slight headache, fatigue, a little appetite loss. I could be sick, or I could just be depressed. I was hoping the fever or lack of it would help me figure it out.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Well, a temperature of less than 101 isn't much proof of anything anyway.
You're probably dehydrated. Drink!
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
*Gets drunk*
Ohh, ts'not whaaatchoo meaant? *giggles*
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
*snicker*
In that alcohol will further dehydrate you, no . . .
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I'm a nurse, and rivka is right on. Ear thermometers aren't terribly accurate. As long as you have the oral thermometer positioned properly (shoved under the tongue) and you haven't had anything to eat or drink in, say, the last 15 minutes, oral thermometers are pretty accurate.
rivka's diagnosis also sounds likely. You should be drinking enough fluids that you need to pee fairly often. If you are going, say, 6 hours without needing to pee, you are not drinking enough. If you down a pint of water and your body just seems to absorb it -- you don't feel the urge to pee after drinking it -- you are not drinking enough.
If you have been sweaty, you will need to replace electrolytes along with the fluids. So, some orange juice or grapefruit juice, on its own or mixed with your water will replentish potassium, and a pinch of salt will replace sodium.
From another thread, I hear that pink gatorade is popular. That will also replace fluids and electrolytes.
If you wake up in the morning feeling sluggish, that is a little-known sign of dehydration.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
My fencing coach has said to cut gatorate with water at least 50% and drink that to replenish water and sodium (fencers sweat...a LOT). Works so far for me. And I, lately, have sweated a lot. Drenching sweats for no apparent reason and at night. So much that my sweat no longer had sodium IN it, it was like water.
Anyrate, the gatorade mix is good stuff. Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:And I, lately, have sweated a lot. Drenching sweats for no apparent reason and at night.
Hot flashes? Aren't you a bit young for The Change, mack? Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
So I'm told.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Actually, I have had an extremely hard time getting up in the morning. I'll try to drink more water. I'm not sweating that much, so I'm not sure about whether my electrolyte balance is the problem. I did have a banana and potato chips...those have potassium and sodium, right?
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
I hear there is a yet another type of thermometer. One that you have to get extra clean after using it.
What's the accuracy like on those?
Posted by Jay (Member # 5786) on :
So* I never take my temperature. I figure what’s the point. If I feel like crud and my temperature is 102 or 103 I’m going to do that same thing as if it’s normal. Now sure, if I’m up there to 104 and 105 hey, it’s time to do something. But what’s the deal with just a regular cold temperature? I always remember growing up and not feeling well and the teacher saying you don’t have a temperature, well, that certainly doesn’t mean I feel well!
Posted by dabbler (Member # 6443) on :
They use this really cool wand to get your temperature at the hospital. The end of the wand gets swiped across your forehead a couple times.
To test your oxygen saturation, they use a really cool finger-tip holder that uses some kind of light absorption to determine your O2 content.
Cool stuff.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Tante is right, per usual - my pediatrician tells all parents not to get an ear thermometer. Expensive, and unreliable. Yes, getting a rectal temp on a upset baby is hard on both baby and Mom but it's so much more reliable.
Be sure that when the babies are old enough to switch to taking oral temps, you throw away your thermometer and go buy a new, oral thermometer. Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:Originally posted by Xavier: I hear there is a yet another type of thermometer. One that you have to get extra clean after using it.
What's the accuracy like on those?
Rectal thermometers are the gold standard of accuracy.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:banana and potato chips...those have potassium and sodium, right?
Right! And a more well-balanced meal you would be hard-pressed to find.
Posted by mothertree (Member # 4999) on :
The salt on potato chips more than cancels out any benefit from the potato. You can microwave potatoes and eat them with whatever on them. Sour Cream doesn't have a lot of sodium. But most of the other stuff we think of putting on them does... butter, cheese, bacon, chili...
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Yeah, that was kind of a joke about semi-unhealthy ways of staying healthy. I actually had a balanced meal that included potato chips and a banana.
Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
Well, since we're asking the nurse about thermometers, I have a question too. I've seen instructions to take an underarm temperature. How reliable is that?
--Mel
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Underarm (axillary) temperatures are accurate, too. Just remember, that the temperature is different than oral or rectal. So a normal oral temperature is 98.6 F, normal rectal is 1 degree Fahrenheit higher and normal axillary is 1 degree Fahrenheit lower.
Thus, a rectal temp of 100 F is about normal, an oral temp of 100 F is slightly elevated, and an axillary temp of 100 F is a fever.
When taking an axillary temperature, positioning is everything. The arm should be crossed across the chest or 9if your arm doesn't bend that way) at least held snugly to the side of the body.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Interesting, Tante. My kids' pediatrician rates thermometer accuracy like so:
rectal > oral >> axillary >> ear
although I suppose that could easily have more to do with the likelihood of the average parent holding a squirmy kid in the right position to take an axillary temp.
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