Thermometers

There are so many different thermometers on the market, and most are just accurate enough to help figure out if a kiddo does or does not have a fever.  Remember, a fever in a kiddo is 100.4 F (38 C) or higher, and that is all a thermometer needs to be able to measure accurately to be allowed on store shelves.  It does not need to provide accurate readings under or over that reading.  So, if a home thermometer reads 104, but the kid is jumping off the walls, take it as they have a fever of 100.4 or above but, after that, take the 104 reading with a grain of salt. 

For babies, go with the old school rectal thermometers.  Before 6 months of age, due to babies not being able to regulate skin temperature, the only truly accurate reading you can get is with a rectal temperature.  So, if your baby feels warm, you can do a forehead or armpit temperature but, if it is near 100.4 or above, do a rectal temp to get an accurate reading. 

For older kiddos, the forehead or under the tongue ones that you can also put in the armpit work just fine for that 100.4 temperature delineation. 

Once your kiddo is found to have a fever, no need to check it multiple times per day.  One fever reading of 100.4 or above counts as a full day, or 24 hours, of fever in most docs’ heads.  We are much more interested in how long the fever last than how many times the fever spikes in a day.