This is a bit off topic! but Can anyone recommend an accurate thermometer

[Raventhorpe]

Hi all, wonder if any of you lovely people knows where I can get an accurate thermometer for my daughter as she's currently undergoing chemotherapy and needs to keep an eye on her temperature as a high reading can mean she's got an infection and needs urgent attention.we bought two different ones already and they are not any good. Thanks Linda

[Hidden]

The digital ones are rubbish - at least all the ones I have had over the years were. The thermometer would beep and provide a low reading, yet if you kept it in your mouth for a few minutes longer, it would give a reading of up to 2 degrees higher! I found using a laboratory thermometer to be most accurate. Its big... but it appears to give a truer reading than the digital ones. I got it from Amazon. Don't buy the 'classic' small thermometer as it is impossible to read it, as the liquid and background are both blue.

[Nanaedake]

Boots do a thermometer that takes temperature from your ear. My doctor uses one and it is very accurate I'm told. It's battery operated but has lasted a long time.

[helvella Administrator]

What ones have you bought and why do you say they are not any good?

It is important to use the right technique for the thermometer. Also, you need to realise that temperature measured does depend on several factors including where measured and what time, drinks, even breathing!

If you want something similar to an old mercury thermometer, then there are several Geratherm products which use a different metal (not mercury) but are otherwise similar. Some people find it hard to shake them down after use.

[Raventhorpe]

The first one she bought was an ordinary digital one she bought from Lloyds chemist, we thought was accurate but when district nurse took reading with her thermometer it read .7 more than my daughters. the one she's just bought was one you put in your ear she got from Asda was more expensive but the reading was different in each ear, very confusing.

[Nanaedake in reply to Raventhorpe]

Always use the same ear for best results. The temperature may vary according to which part of the body it's taken from. The important thing is to always take temperature from the same location to be consistent. What you need to monitor is variation. An ear thermometer may be a very slightly cooler reading than in the mouth thermometers but if you alway use the same thermometor and take the reading from the same body location you will pick up any variations in temperature.

[helvella Administrator in reply to Raventhorpe]

I am not impressed by most of the very basic digital thermometers. As someone else said, they do seem to take longer to read properly than the timer implies.

I have seen problems with electronic ear thermometers when the device itself has been cold. (Ironically, a doctor doing home visits in sub-zero conditions and wondering why he couldn't get one to work.) Otherwise, my experience has been that they are quite consistent.

If you keep taking someone's temperature first in one ear, then in the other, and the difference is consistent, you might have found a genuine difference.

The authors recommend that tympanic temperature be registered in the right ear or in both ears in which case the highest reading should be recorded.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/145...

2. Why may I get different readings when taking many measurements?

Wait at least 30 seconds after 3-5 continuous measurements.

Always take the temperature in the same ear, since the temperature readings may be different from ear to ear.

Straighten the ear canal by pulling gently on the outer ear:

For children under one year: pull the ear straight back.

Children ages one year to adult: pull the ear up and back.

microlife.com/magazine/feve...

[041051]

I have a Braun ear thermometer that I bought from Amazon. I always check the temperature in both ears because any infection would be picked up quicker if it was starting on one side but wasn't yet affecting the other side. If the temperature is raised slightly, try again at 5 minute intervals to see if it is because of a normal fluctuation or something more serious. Good luck

[Mandy2007]

Hi I use Tempadot disposable thermometers for my daughter. I’ve tried loads over the years and these are by far the best & accurate. The hospital she is under (The Evelina) uses them too. If you google, quite a few come up. Just make sure you by the Celsius ones and not Fahrenheit! 😊 They are around £15 for a pack of 100. Keep them in the box in a dry dark place as light can compromise them.

Good luck, any questions just ask 👍 Mandy

[SmallBlueThing]

There's a Braun ear thermometer as an Amazon deal for £24.99 today, 19th May: amazon.co.uk/Braun-IRT6020-...

Camelcamelcamel.com shows it's been sold for £18-£20 in the past.

Just for information, I usually get a reading 0.2C higher under the left side of my tongue.

[Raventhorpe]

Thanks to everyone for your helpful information, I will pass them on to my daughter.

[jkozlow3]

Geratherm for sure. Only oral thermometer that seems to give consistent readings (I've tried several well-rated digitals that give wildly different readings).

[Tricot in reply to jkozlow3]

jkozlow3, which Geratherm thermometer are you recommending, please? I've looked up Geratherm and there are several with widely differing prices.

[jkozlow3 in reply to Tricot]

amazon.com/gp/product/B0006...

[Tricot in reply to jkozlow3]

Thank you.

[Angel_of_the_North]

Look for Geratherm, I think they sell them on Amazon (and Ebay). Non-digital, traditional glass thingy - a real thermometer.