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Thermometer basics: Taking your child's temperature
Thermometer choices got you baffled? Understand the different thermometer options — and when to seek medical help for a fever.
By Mayo Clinic staffIf your child feels warm or seems under the weather, it's probably time to take his or her temperature. Sounds simple enough — but if you're new to it, you may have questions. Which type of thermometer is best? Are thermometer guidelines different for babies and older children? Here's what you need to know to take your child's temperature.
Know your thermometer options
A glass mercury thermometer was once a staple in most medicine cabinets. Today, digital thermometers are recommended instead of mercury thermometers, which can break and allow mercury to vaporize and be inhaled.
Regular digital thermometers, which use electronic heat sensors to record body temperature, can be used in the mouth, armpit or rectum. Digital ear thermometers, also called tympanic thermometers, use an infrared ray to measure the temperature inside the ear canal. Other options include a digital pacifier thermometer and temporal artery thermometer — which uses an infrared scanner to measure the temperature of the temporal artery in the forehead.
If you want to get a single thermometer for the entire family, a regular digital thermometer is probably best. However, if you plan to use the digital thermometer to take a rectal temperature, get two digital thermometers and label one for oral use and one for rectal use. Don't use the same thermometer in both places.
Accuracy varies
The most accurate way to take a child's temperature is to use a digital thermometer rectally or orally. Rectal temperatures provide the best readings for infants. Ear thermometers are another option for babies and older children. However, earwax or a small, curved ear canal can interfere with the accuracy of a temperature taken with an ear thermometer. Armpit temperatures and temperatures measured with a pacifier thermometer are considered the least accurate methods. The reliability of temporal artery thermometers hasn't yet been verified.
Whatever the method, make sure you carefully read the instructions that came with your thermometer. After each use, clean the tip of the thermometer with rubbing alcohol or soap and lukewarm water. For safety — and to make sure the thermometer stays in place — never leave your child unattended while you're taking his or her temperature.
Next page(1 of 2)
- How to take your child's temperature. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://patiented.aap.org/content.aspx?aid=6368. Accessed Jan. 15, 2010.
- Shelov SP, et al. Caring For Your Baby And Young Child: Birth To Age 5. New York, N.Y.: Bantam; 2009:747.
- Bobb B, et al. Fever and sweats. In: Walsh D, et al. Palliative medicine. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/171587449-4/0/2038/167.html?tocnode=57251154&fromURL=167.html. Accessed Nov. 16, 2009.
- Powell KR. Fever. In: Kliegman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/171587449-4/0/1608/510.html?tocnode=54478711&fromURL=510.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2450-7..50176-6_3974. Accessed Nov. 16, 2009.
- How to take a child's temperature. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/fever/Pages/How-to-Take-a-Childs-Temperature.aspx. Accessed Feb. 12, 2010.
- Holzhauer JK, et al. Evaluation of temporal artery thermometry in children 3-36 months old. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing. 2009;14:239.
- Medications used to treat a fever. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/fever/pages/Medications-Used-to-Treat-Fever.aspx. Accessed Feb. 12, 2010.
- Braun CA. Accuracy of pacifier thermometers in young children. Pediatric Nursing. 2006;32:413.
- Hoecker JL (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 15, 2010.
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