Do you have a good thermometer?

[teacups]

I cant find one that works for beans siince having to do away with the old shake-down mercury kind! Just now researching those forehead roll ones, and they sound just as bad as the ear ones. What are people doing that WORKS? Do you have one that is good?

 

[madhttr]

Since my husband and I have been TTC, we have the Vicks OviTrack Thermometer. It works really well. The regular Vicks thermometer should do fine for regular temperature taking.

 

[Colleen456]

I have a mercury free shake down thermometer, got it at CVS for 5.99. Its called Geratherm classic.

 

[Nicolepa]

I gave up and went back to the shake down thermometer. My 6 yo is finally able to use that. i still use the stupid digital under the arm for my 4 yo. i usually take my temp first to see how far off it is today. Sometimes it right on, other times is 2 degrees or more off.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

I have a standard Vicks thermometer, and it is pretty accurate. We've had the expensive ear and forehead ones - they were always off by a degree or two. Even nurses at our doctors offices say they're pieces of crap.

 

[daisyduck123]

I have a Vicks Digital Thermometer. Just put it under the tongue for a few minutes, & it "beeps" when it's finished. If works great for DS8. I got it at the grocery store ...didn't cost much.

I love that it's digital, only takes a second to read.

 

[mytwotinks]

I use my hand! I've never quite understood why it is important to know exactly what temp a person is. If they are hot, I give them advil. I do have a profesional model ear thermometer that I use sometime, but it is usually a waste because it isn't accurate at all.

 

[Christine]

I have a Vick's Speed Read Digital and a regular Vicks Digital. I think the regular one (takes about 1-2 minutes) is the most accurate. The speed read one gives a temp in about 30 seconds but I find it reading out "low" most of the time.

 

[golfgal]

I use my hand! I've never quite understood why it is important to know exactly what temp a person is. If they are hot, I give them advil. I do have a profesional model ear thermometer that I use sometime, but it is usually a waste because it isn't accurate at all.

I agree, I can pretty much tell how hot the kids are just by feeling their forehead or stomach or by looking at them. It really doesn't matter that much if they are 102 or 103. I have an ear thermometer that works just fine. You do need to use it correctly for it to be accurate.

 

[Christine]

You do need to use it correctly for it to be accurate.

It's more than just using it correctly. My DD (who is 15) was born during the "rage" of ear thermometers! We always used one on her and I always thought it was pretty accurate.

Then my son came along. For some reason, the the ear thermometer never registered well on him. He could be RAGING with a fever and we would get something like 97.9! Even at the doctor's office. They were always looking at me suspiciously even though he was burning up.

Turns out that he has very narrow ear canal and always has a lot of wax in his ears (he also has a lot of ear problems and ear sensitivity ). Anyway, no matter how you hold the thing, it just does not work on him. I'm sure he is a rare case, but I have spoken to other moms who report the same thing.

 

[golfgal]

It's more than just using it correctly. My DD (who is 15) was born during the "rage" of ear thermometers! We always used one on her and I always thought it was pretty accurate.

Then my son came along. For some reason, the the ear thermometer never registered well on him. He could be RAGING with a fever and we would get something like 97.9! Even at the doctor's office. They were always looking at me suspiciously even though he was burning up.

Turns out that he has very narrow ear canal and always has a lot of wax in his ears (he also has a lot of ear problems and ear sensitivity ). Anyway, no matter how you hold the thing, it just does not work on him. I'm sure he is a rare case, but I have spoken to other moms who report the same thing.

Again, it still doesn't really matter if they are 101 or 103, they have a fever.

 

[Christine]

Again, it still doesn't really matter if they are 101 or 103, they have a fever.

Of course--but I still like to know the actual amount. If my child's fever is on the lower size (say around 100) I may elect not to treat it with anything because I do believe that "fever is our friend"! However, if it is really high, then I will treat it.

Also, I know our schools will not send a child home if the temp is below 100 degrees. If my either of my children even have a slight fever they get very red looking. So, it's really hard for me to gauge how bad it is without a thermometer.

Of course, now that they are older they can just tell me how bad they feel and we hardly use a thermometer.