Children’s Fever Guide: A Parent’s Resource
Measuring a fever
By Deena Waisberg, including video content from Multimedicus, LLC, which was developed with cooperation from Harvard Medical School
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The first step to helping your child is to determine that he actually has a fever. You can't reliably determine this simply by placing your hand on your child's forehead. You need to take his temperature with a thermometer.
What kind of thermometer: You'll want to use a digital thermometer. “They're accurate, easy to read and difficult to break,” says Dr. Ellen Schumann, a pediatrician at Marshfield Clinic in Weston , Wisconsin and mother of two grown boys. And the good news is that you don't need to spend a fortune on one; the inexpensive ones work just fine. Also, for babies, a pacifier thermometer works well, according to Dr. Schumann, but she recommends against purchasing an eardrum thermometer because they can be difficult to position correctly.
Avoid using a mercury thermometer because mercury is toxic. (If you still have a mercury thermometer, call your doctor's office or local hospital for proper disposal advice; don't just throw it out.)
What method: Once you've selected a thermometer, choose a method of taking your child's temperature: rectal (in the bottom), oral (in the mouth) or axillary (in the armpit). Up to about age one, it's advised to use the rectal method, which is the most accurate. Coat the plastic tip with a bit of petroleum jelly, slide the thermometer in the bottom, wait until it beeps or stops beeping (depending on the model) and check the reading, advises Dr. Schumann.
Older children can have their temperature taken orally or in the armpit. When taking orally, make sure your child keeps the tip of the thermometer under his tongue with his mouth closed. With under the armpit, place the tip deep in your child's armpit and then hold his arm firmly to his body. Again, once the thermometer stops beeping or beeps (depending on the model), you can check the reading.
Normal body temperatures range from 98F to 100F, says Dr. Metcalf. You'll know your child has a temperature if the thermometer reads higher than 100.4 F (38 C) if taken rectally or 99.5 F (37.5) if taken orally or 98.6 (37 C) if taken under the armpit.
