Which ear thermometer do you have/like?

I just bought the Braun thermoscan 3020 ear thermometer and hate it. It is not accurate at all. Has anyone else had this problem? I am a nurse so know how to take a temp in the ear. For example it kept reading mine in the 99's and I know for a fact I don't have a temp, in fact I usually run low. My girls have had low grade temps and it read their's in the 96-97. I called the 800# and they told me to clean the head and remove the battery and replace it but it still doesn't seem accurate. Anyone recommend one that they like?

 

I can't help you -- we're still using the underarm/rectal ones we got at the hospital when the girls were born. (We haven't done a rectal temp in nearly 4 years, though -- in fact I'm not sure we've ever done one.)

I don't think they're particularly accurate, but they seem to be able to tell whether a temp is normal, a little high, or very high, which is all I usually need to know.

 

I stay away from ear thermometers since the one time my husband ran a 106.4 fever. Yes, 106. Took it orally and it was 103. Back in the one ear 106. In the other ear 103. So yeah, he was sick, but he had an ear infection which physically raised his temperature in that one ear.

I have a temporal one, but I don't like that one either. The kids won't let me do it. I can't wait until they're a little older and can take temps orally.

 

We have this Exergen temporal thermometer. It is actually the same one that our pedi has and we have found it be really accurate.

 

We don't use one either...just haven't had good luck with them. It seemed like I couldn't get them to work with Abby's ears (tubes). We do under the arm for the younger ones and I've just recently been able to start doing oral with my 6.5 yr. old.

 

Interesting! All 3 of my kids have tubes, maybe that's the problem!

 

We have a Braun Thermoscan Ear Thermometer, too. I am pretty happy with ours. Sometimes it seems like it reads a little low (especially with the kids) but I assume that is due to small ear canals. I have never thought it read high though. :unknw:

 

I've had a few different alternative-style thermometers and none seemed to be accurate enough for my liking. I just do underarm readings with a regular digital thermometer. Hope you can find one that works for you!

 

I just purchased an underarm thermometer made by Vicks thats actually a flat disc...works really well! I've never liked ear thermometers...the crappy one I had once told me my daughters temp was 94.5!

 

We have this same thermometer and I like it. It's so easy to swipe my girls foreheads and except for the beeping, I could do it when they're asleep if I needed. I also have an underarm digital that the hospital gave us. I have always said I'd use it if fevers got high enough I wanted to double check, but we haven't had to yet.

 

We have used those as well. We have a temporal one, but I don't think I use it right. I get various readings all the time. We have never used an ear thermometer.

 

Same here. Since we're still temping for H1N1 every morning for school they say it can run it little higher when taking in their ear (38C compared to 37.5C), so I assume it's slightly less accurate but ours just works fine. Usually lower than higher ... I use it as a guideline, and if "high", I'll take rectal temp, but now with 3 kids in school and temping them every morning, it's easy and fast!

 

Same here. I love it.