Thermometer

I have found the ear thermometers to be a bit inaccurate with a squirming toddler and even a 13 year old. You have to get the thermometer correctly positioned in the ear canal. Now they have thermometers that you rub on their foreheads (I can't recall the name of that one). It's supposed to be very accurate because it measures the temp of a major blood vessel or artery that goes across the forehead. Lots easier than pulling on your child's ear and shoving a probe into it and sometimes the clickk from the ear thermometer is loud. Best of luck.

C.

We LOVE the Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer. You just scan it across the forehead. What's nice is that it's non-evasive and you can even take their temp while they are sleeping. You can buy it at Wal-Mart for $30-40.

If you don't want to go with the typical digital 3 in 1 type definitely save yourself the money and skip the ear thermometer. I have one and its not accurate by any means. I see that a few people have recommended the Exergen which is what we now have. My sister on the other hand has a Meijer brand temporal thermometer which is just as accurate. You use it on the temple of the child's head. We have compared them taking my son's temp with each one right after the other.....and then heading to the Ped's office. They gave the same readings and the Meijer brand is by far cheaper its like $20 as opposed to the $50 for the Exergen. Just a suggestion if you want an alternative to the $50 for the Exergen right now....I know the economy is making things harder for all of us.

We use the one the hospital gave us under the arm. The ped said it's the easiest way to get a good reading.

I know a lot of people that like to use the ear thermometers. Studies have shown that ear thermometers actually miss fevers up to 50% of the time. I have always used just a regular thermometer under the arm on my kids, I use store brand, and they work just as well as name brand. All you need to do is add 1 degree when taking it under the arm.
D.
I am 31 and have been married for 12 yrs. My husband and I have 3 wonderful boys ages 11,8, and almost 5.

Braun thermoscan from Target was about $35, I usually take a couple readings from each ear to get a ballpark reading (since I know this isn't the most accurate way to get a temp, but let's fact it rectal isn't fun for anyone--as a nurse, I know you can also harm the rectal tissue if you do incorrectly). If you're really worried about not getting a good read, do like in the hospitals and use the digital kind under the armpit. Good luck!

I bought an ear one before I realized that it's too big for their little ears.
I then spent the extra money for an Exergen, which is the "non-doctors office" version of the temporal thermometer the nurses use. It's been great for our family, because my daughter doesn't mind having her temperature taken.

The only catch is the top of the thermometer has to be flush with her forehead, and I swipe it a few times to make sure it gives a correct temperature.

I bought mine at Walgreens, but I think you can find them anywhere - it's around $50.

Hope it helps!

C. G

we received an ear thermometer at our baby shower for our daughter. She is a year old now and we still are unable to use it on her because it doesn't fit down into her ear and give an accurate reading. We use a vicks thermometer and put it under her arm and you are suppose to add a degree to the end result to make it accurate. Or you could take the temperature rectally which is the most accurate way and really doesn't seem to be uncomfortable to my daughter when she has it taken in that way. Good Luck!

I have a Braun Thermoscan (ear) thermometer that I love...it won out in the thermometer battle in my house. I usually take my daughter's temp a few times a week, so she is used to it and it gives me a baseline for how it reads her body temp...that way I know if it is reading elevated temperature for her normal reading.

I also have the Exergen Temporal thermometer which was ok on a sleeping infant, but not practical for my wiggly daughter once she was about 9 mos (now 2 years). I also have the Summer infant 3-in-1 family thermometer. It is digital and you can change the tip for oral, rectal (shorter so you do not insert too far), and under arm (more paddle shaped). I think I would have loved it if I did not lose the pieces - which is hard to do because they store right in a special compartment - I think they were thrown away. I hope this helps!

They say for a baby you should use the rectal thermometer, it is more acurate for a baby. I don't have a recommendation, just wanted to say you might want to use the rectal.

Good luck!

My kids are all a bit older than a toddler, but we have a Braun thermoscan that we all just love. It is very accurate and easy for the kids to put in their ear and take their own temperature. They feel big doing so.

Like I said, my kids are a bit older, my youngest being 7, but it is a great ear thermometer. Actually, now that I'm looking at it, i think it has a setting for rectal use also.

Good luck.

My ped. said that ear thermometers are a waste of money because babies/children's eustachian tubes are curved (they straighten out as we grow into adults) and in order to get a good reading from an ear thermometer, it needs to bounce it's reading off the ear drum. Since a curved tube can't support this, the reading isn't accurate. My pediatrician now uses the one that you swipe across the forehead. I haven't purchased one for myself yet (I had the ear one), but I think I saw them for around $40 at target. Other than that, the old fashioned way is supposed to be best. In order to get it for my kids, I've put my digital thermometer under my kids' arms for a reading sometimes. It's not as accurate as rectal, but if your child is really burning up, they should be seen by medical professionals anyway, right? Good luck!

Hi J.,

We use the Vicks brand of thermometers. We have all three types (under arm, ear and rectum). My son just had his 2 month check up and our ped says we need to monitor his temperature because of the shots he received. He recommended us to use the rectum one..or start with the underarm and then if the reading warrants it use the rectum. I am only mentioning this you because the Vicks ear thermometer cost us $55.00 and we really aren't going to use it. A big waste of money that could have been spent on diapers or formula!!

Good luck with whichever route you choose.

J.,

It has been a while because my oldest is 16, but we could not get accurate readings with the ear kind. For one of our kids we could never get it to register anything higher than 93 because of the shape of her ears, so we went back to the digital under arm.

M.

We have the Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer. We love it!

I honestly think that ear thermometers are a total waste of money. I bought one and could never get an accurate reading despite thoroughly reading the directions. I used it and would get a reading like 94.8, then would have check in the armpit and get a reading of 101 - huge difference! My doctor's office uses a temporal artery thermometer (scans across forehead and around behind the ear) but I'm sure there's is a medical grade one.

I would save yourself the money and get a normal one that can be used in the armpit and rectal. If your baby gets sick and you call the pediatrician they are going to ask for a rectal reading and I'm pretty sure there aren't any models that do ear and rectal. I have a Vick's Speed Read that works very quickly. You can do the armpit to screen and monitor and then follow-up with a rectal reading if the armpit indicates a fever (usually a reading over 100 in the armpit). Be sure that when you take a reading and call your pediatrician you tell them the reading on the thermometer and the method used (don't just add a degree as that's not always quite accurate) - like say 100 degrees taken under the arm - or 102 taken rectally. If you say it was 100 (when the actual reading was 99 but you added a degree because it was taken under the arm) then they ask you "how did you take it" and you say in the armpit - they may add another degree making a 99 degree temp 101 - which in a young child can make a difference.

I have a Exergen Comfort Scanner. It is an infrared thermometer that you run across the forehead. I really like it and my girls don't mind it either. I think that I purchased it at Walgreens. I had tried a couple ear thermometers but never got accurate readings. This ones seems to be pretty accurate. After looking at other responses it looks like the Exergen is the way to go.