What's Hot and What's Not? Tips for Taking Your Child's Temperature

Your child is dragging and feels warm to the touch. Is it just a cold, or something more serious? With flu season here, it's time to brush up on the how-to's of taking your child's temperature.

What type of thermometer should you use?
Not all thermometers are created equal, nor are they equally reliable. Oral and rectal thermometers are still the best choices for a fast, accurate reading. Readings from forehead thermometers and temporal scanners are not as accurate.

• Oral thermometers are best for older children and adults.
• Rectal thermometers are best for infants and children under 3 years of age.
• Eardrum (tympanic) thermometers are only for use in children older than 3 months of age.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents stop using glass mercury thermometers to reduce the risk of mercury exposure.

How to use a thermometer

• Oral
• Clean the tip of your thermometer with warm soapy water. Rinse with cool water and dry.
• Turn switch on and place the sensor under your child's tongue as far back as comfortably possible. Leave in mouth for about one minute or until you hear the beep.
• Don't give your child hot foods or liquids for at least 20 minutes before you take his or her temperature.
• Rectal
• Clean the tip of the thermometer with rubbing alcohol, rinse and dry. Lubricate the thermometer tip with petroleum jelly.
• Place your child belly-down on your lap or on a changing table. With one hand, hold your child securely on the small of his or her back.
• Place the tip of the lubricated thermometer about one inch into your child's rectum for one minute or until the thermometer beeps.
• Hold the thermometer while it is in your child's rectum to avoid injury.
• Underarm (axillary)
• Clean the tip of the thermometer with warm soapy water. Rinse it with cool water and dry.
• Place the sensor of an oral or rectal thermometer under your child's armpit.
• Hold your child's arm tightly against his or her armpit for about one minute or until you hear the beep.
• Eardrum (tympanic)
• Place the sensor in your child's ear and press the start button. A reading will appear within seconds.
• Note that excess earwax can cause an inaccurate reading.
• Never put this special thermometer for ears in the mouth or rectum. Likewise, rectal and oral thermometers should not be used in the ear.

Temperature rising?
Normal body temperature ranges from 97 degrees F to 99 degrees F during the day. A temperature of 100.4 degrees F or higher signals a fever.

Call your doctor if the fever is:

• In children younger than 3 months of age, since they may not show other signs of serious illness.
• Higher than 101 degrees F.
• Accompanied by a stiff neck or drowsiness. (This may be a sign of meningitis, a serious infection of the brain and spinal cord.)
• Causing a seizure.
• Present for more than three days in a child 3 months or older.

In most cases, a fever is not a cause for worry. Keep your child cool and comfortable. Add lots of TLC and provide plenty of fluids. Your child will probably feel better in no time.

Related Articles Baby Basics 101 The Child with a Fever

External Sources American Academy of Pediatrics. What's the best way to take a child's temperature? Accessed August 21, 2007. Journal of the American Medical Association Patient Page. Fever in infants. Accessed September 28, 2007. American Academy of Family Physicians. Familydoctor.org. Fever in children: when your child has a fever. Accessed September 28, 2007.

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