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WOMEN'S & CHILDREN'S | Family Maternity Center | Pregnancy Resource Center | Pregnancy Library | Baby Health | Learn how to take baby’s temperature
Learn how to take baby’s temperature
Taking a baby's temperature for the first time is a bit like giving a squirming baby his first bath. It can seem impossible at first. But you'll find it can be done.
As a parent you are presented with a number of thermometer types. This can be confusing. What kind is best? Actually, the old-style mercury thermometer is the most reliable. (A low battery in a digital thermometer can cause an incorrect reading.)
However, parents need to take some precautions with a mercury thermometer. It is breakable, and since mercury is poisonous, this can be dangerous. Wash the thermometer with soap and cool water and sterilize it with alcohol before using it again. Wash a digital thermometer the same way.
More than one way to take a temperature
Oral and rectal temperatures are the most reliable methods, either taken digitally or with a mercury thermometer. In a child under age four, you should take a rectal temperature. For older children, take it orally. Never use an oral thermometer to take a rectal temperature. Rectal thermometers have a different shape and are made just for this purpose.
You can also place the silver end of the thermometer under your baby's armpit and hold it there for four minutes. The reading you get will not be as accurate as a rectal reading. Be sure to tell your health care provider that it was an armpit reading. You can use either an oral or a rectal mercury or digital thermometer to take an armpit reading.
Digital ear thermometers don't produce as reliable a reading as a rectal reading. Many doctors don't recommend these thermometers for children under age two. These thermometers are also expensive compared to a mercury or digital thermometer.
Taking a rectal temperature- Before you begin, as well as after you've finished, wash the thermometer in soapy water, rinse with cool water and sterilize with alcohol.
- Use a rectal mercury thermometer. Shake it down so that the mercury is below 98.6 degrees.
- Coat the tip of the thermometer with petroleum jelly.
- Place your baby on his tummy. Gently spread the buttocks until you see the anal opening. Carefully insert the thermometer into the rectum no more than one inch.
- Keep your baby from moving too much by putting one hand on the small of his back. With the other hand hold the thermometer between your fingers and place your palm on his buttocks. After three minutes take out the thermometer and turn it until you can see the silver line. A rectal reading will be higher than an oral reading; this is normal. A normal rectal reading in most infants would be 99.6 degrees, though infants' normal temperature varies somewhat.
- Never leave your child alone with a thermometer inserted in the body.
Date last reviewed: October 2002.
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