Temperature measurments

[notmyself]

hi, i was wondering wich palce gives a more accurette reading..i know rectal is the best ,but i don t really want to do that..i check orrally and armpit..i have the same readings around 37.1..the problem is for oral 37.1 it's in the normal range..while for armpit from what i see on internet above 37 is consider a low grade fever..

 

[Rebeccare]

An oral temperature reading is more accurate than an armpit reading by about .5 degrees celsius. An oral reading not quite as accurate as a rectal reading, but the difference between an oral temperature and a rectal temperature is usually around .2 degrees celsius. So that may be accurate enough for your purposes. A good ear thermometer can also give an accurate reading--they're better than they used to be.

A fever is generally considered about 38 C measured rectally, 37.8 C measured orally, and 37.2 C measured from the armpit. A low grade fever is generally considered between 37-38, although some people just naturally have a regular temperature in that range.

 

[Wishful]

It's also important to verify your thermometer's accuracy. Cheap ones can be significantly inaccurate. I had two mercury thermometers which agreed with each other. The electronic one was several tenths high. Maybe visit a friend or family member and use their thermometer for a comparison test? That's if you care about absolute temperature. If you're only concerned about variation, accuracy is less critical.

I use it orally, since it's more accurate than underarm. The ear type might be more convenient, but I didn't consider it worth the extra cost.

 

[notmyself]

It's also important to verify your thermometer's accuracy. Cheap ones can be significantly inaccurate. I had two mercury thermometers which agreed with each other. The electronic one was several tenths high. Maybe visit a friend or family member and use their thermometer for a comparison test? That's if you care about absolute temperature. If you're only concerned about variation, accuracy is less critical.

I use it orally, since it's more accurate than underarm. The ear type might be more convenient, but I didn't consider it worth the extra cost.

i check with another one and i get the same result..under arm suppose to be 0.5 to 1 degree less than orall...for me under arm is higher than oral...oral is normal 37 c..but under arm is 37.5..so i don t know if i have a low rade fever or not..is really weird

 

[Wishful]

Not to insult your personal hygiene habits, but is anything composting under there?

I make sure that I spend at least several minutes breathing through my nose rather than mouth, and then hold the thermometer in my mouth for a minute or two before pressing the button for measurement. Breathing through the mouth could drop the temperature significantly. However, my oral temp is 36.7 when I'm not suffering extra ME symptoms, so your oral temp seems reasonable. Why underarm could be higher? Maybe unusual artery placement? Maybe your lymph nodes are unusually active? Interesting mystery.