New ways to take baby's temperature

Technological advances have made home health care easier and cheaper — and increased the options to the point where it isn’t always clear which is the best product to buy.

Infant thermometers are one example. The good news is there are now many ways to check the body temperature of a young child. The (possibly) bad news is that some of the options (including the most expensive ones) are  not always effective.

The digital ear thermometer is one example. Insert a small probe into the child’s ear, push a button, and in as little as one second, the digital display reveals the temperature. The biggest appeal is that the thermometer is non-invasive and almost instantaneous.

But some pediatricians warn that the ear thermometer is not accurate.

“In the younger kids, the probe that goes in the ear doesn’t go in far enough,� said Virginia Gray-Clarke, a pediatrician in Sharon. “You get a lot of flow from the outside and get a falsely low temperature.�

The digital ear thermometers are also quite costly, usually running about $60.

Doctors and hospitals for the most part use an axillary temperature, which measures the body temperature in the arm pit. But Gray-Clarke said these thermometers are not completely accurate.

“The rule of thumb is to add half to one degree to the axillary measurement,� she said. “If the underarm temp is questionable, use a rectal to confirm, then use under the arm to follow the trend.�

The rectal thermometer is, in her opinion, still the most accurate.

Other thermometers, such as a pacifier thermometer or a forehead thermometer, can also be unreliable.

“For the pacifier, if the child has had a cold drink, you’re going to get a false low number,� Gray-Clarke said. “And the accuracy of the forehead thermometer has not been proven to the point where we would shift and move to that.�

General guidelines suggest that a temperature of 100.4 in a newborn (eight weeks or younger) is a cause for concern, as it may indicate a birth-related infection.

For older children, temperatures over 104 are considered serious.

But as important as the reading on the thermometer, Gray-Clarke said, are common sense and knowing the child.

“If you take an axillary temp under the arm and get 102, you know there’s a fever. There’s no need to do a rectal,� she said. “After that, take a look at what the child looks like.

If they have a temp of 102 and they’re happy and comfortable, I’m not worried.

If they have a temp of 100.9 and they’re lethargic and limp, I’m more worried.�