If the thermometer breaks, the mercury may be breathed in or absorbed (soaked) into your skin. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and other organizations warn against using mercury thermometers. ![]() Mercury is a toxic and hazardous chemical. Mercury is inside the silver tip and line. ![]() This thermometer is a thin glass tube with a silver line inside. In the past, mercury (MER-kure-e) thermometers were used.Alcohol-filled and galinstan glass thermometers are harder than digital thermometers to find in regular grocery stores. You may need to hold a glass thermometer in place for up to ten minutes in order to get a correct axillary temperature reading. Infants and children may move suddenly and break the glass thermometer next to their skin. Be very careful using a glass thermometer to check an axillary temperature on infants and children. Galinstan thermometers have a silver colored line, but will be marked "mercury-free" when you buy one. Glass thermometers with galinstan (GAL-in-stan) may also be used to check an axillary temperature. Glass thermometers with red or blue alcohol inside may also be used for axillary temperatures.Digital thermometers can be bought at grocery, drug, or medical supply stores. Carefully read the instructions before using your digital thermometer. Most digital thermometers are easy to use and measure body temperature in less than a minute. There are many kinds of digital thermometers. It is a small hand-held device with a "window" showing your temperature in numbers. A digital thermometer may be used to take an axillary temperature.What kind of thermometer is used to take an axillary temperature? Body temperature changes slightly through the day and night, and may change based on your activity. The axillary temperature may be as much as two degrees lower than the rectal temperature. The normal axillary temperature is usually a degree lower than the oral (by mouth) temperature. A normal axillary temperature is between 96.6° (35.9° C) and 98° F (36.7° C). A fever may be a sign of illness, infection or other conditions. "Fever" is a word used for a temperature that is higher than normal for the body. ![]() Why do I need to check an axillary temperature?Īn axillary temperature may be done to check for a fever. This is because the thermometer is not inside your body such as under your tongue. An axillary temperature is lower than one taken in your mouth, rectum, or your ear. A thermometer (ther-MOM-uh-ter) is used to take the temperature in your armpit. What is it?Īn axillary (AK-sih-lar-e) temperature (TEM-per-ah-chur) is when your armpit (axilla) is used to check your temperature. To identify these febrile patients with possible infection, clinicians must be attentive to elderly patients' vague clinical presentation.Medically reviewed by. Thus, rectal thermometry identified fevers missed orally and tympanically in elderly patients whose presentation suggested infection. Five of 90 (5.6%) patients were febrile rectally but were afebrile by both oral and tympanic thermometry. Rectal thermometry identified a fever in 14 of 95 (14.7%) patients who were afebrile orally and in 11 of 90 (12.2%) patients who were afebrile tympanically. Discordance was defined as any patient with an oral or tympanic temperature of 38 degrees C or less but manifesting a rectal temperature greater than 38 degrees C and 0.5 degrees C (1 degrees F) greater than the oral or tympanic temperature. A fever was defined as a temperature greater than 38 degrees C (100.4 degrees F). This cross-sectional study enrolled 95 elderly Emergency Department patients aged 60 years or more to determine if rectal temperatures identify fevers more often than oral or tympanic temperatures when the chief complaint suggests an infection.
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