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How much do you trust your thermometer? Studies suggest it’s time to take a closer look.

Worried about your thermometer? You wouldn’t be the only one. COVID-19 has reshaped the way we think about our health and how we use personal health equipment. At this point you may have purchased face masks, face shields and even gloves! But when is the last time you looked at that old thermometer you’ve kept in your kitchen drawer? Studies suggest it’s time we revisit this antiquated technology.

Time marches on, technology not so much. 

In concept, the technology we’ve relied on in thermometers hasn’t changed in centuries. In the year 1612, an Italian inventor named Santorio Santorio became the first to put a numerical scale on an older version of a thermometer known as the thermoscope. It was known as the first crude clinical thermometer, designed to be placed in a patient's mouth for taking temperature. Since this development, we’ve only made minor advances on Santorio’s design. This means the concept of how we use thermometers has gone unchanged for over 400 years!

Dawn of the Infrared Thermometers

Like the many bright minds that brought us past thermometer innovations, Sir William Herschel’s discovery of temperature fluctuations found in the color spectrum of light revealed a new age of technology that would be far reaching. Herschel’s discoveries would eventually be implemented in health technology capable of identifying temperature with unparalleled accuracy: Infrared thermometers.

Size and speed are the key to accuracy.

What makes an infrared thermometer so accurate?According to the National Library of Medicine, “Evidence has been reviewed, which suggests that problems with the newer oral thermometers are the results of the size of the temperature sensors and the speed with which they respond. The small sensor size results in variability in placement relative to the primary heat source. The speed of sensor response results in too great a sensitivity to local, acute vasomotor activity (clinical temperature noise). Potential solutions, including an increase in sensor size and a reduction in response speed are discussed.

Conclusion? 

In conclusion, history and today’s medical professionals  reveal a blind spot in the modern advancement of health technology used in our homes. While inexpensive oral and body thermometers will continue to be staple in our home medical supplies, it turns they’re not as accurate as we once thought. This not only proves a problem, given the pandemic crisis that we’re living in, this for many can mean life or death. Knowing your options and doing your research however, can help turn the tide against our battle with infectious diseases, especially now.

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