# Thermapen to take body temperature



## rickbern (Mar 13, 2020)

Went to buy a first aid thermometer on amazon, panic hit the market. 

think it’s accurate to put my thermapen (the real eighty buck one) under my tongue to take my temperature?


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## rickbern (Mar 13, 2020)

And don’t nobody tell me to stick it where the sun...


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## ModRQC (Mar 13, 2020)

Not only do you have to, but according to the instructions, you need to push it far enough that it reaches the center of your body, as to take core temperature...


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## CiderBear (Mar 13, 2020)

rickbern said:


> And don’t nobody tell me to stick it where the sun...



When I was a kid my mom used a pretty basic armpit thermometer for me. Perhaps you can do that? Wouldn't want to poke the soft part underneath your tongue with a thermapen - it would hurt


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## RonB (Mar 13, 2020)

Don't stick it under your tongue - it will hurt. Just jam it in your thigh making sure to avoid bone.


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## daveb (Mar 13, 2020)

Make sure you stick it where you can read it. It's fast you know. Maybe under the tongue / in the ear and take a selfie?


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## HRC_64 (Mar 13, 2020)

AFAIK Thermapen is built to be FAST and "relatively accurate" from ~freezing to ~boiling, a large range of 180-200 degreeze.

Nobody cares if food is off by 2 degrees 99 vs 101 but your doctor cares if this is your medical readin since it ranges from "normal" at 99 to "fever" of 101F

Since there is a more narrow calibrated window, and the precision is more clinically/real world important, I would expect a medical device to be more accurate--in this range-- than the kitchen devices/

Medical - needs to be very accurate from 95-105 deg F
Food - needs to be reasonably accurate from 120F to 180F for food safety and 32F to 212F for general utilitity in the kitchen.

For candy and ovens etc you are looking at temps 212-5ooF and probaby want another instrument set for that too.

Thermapens makes a ton of different calibrated instruments becaus eof these issues.


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## Paraffin (Mar 13, 2020)

Agree with HRC_64 above -- a few tenths of a degree can make a difference with body temp, and the Thermapen isn't designed for that.

I don't think even the fancy Thermapen version I got recently with the IR remote sensor is accurate enough, compared to the in-ear IR thermometer my wife and I use when one of us is checking for fever. Don't mess around with this, when it comes to your health. I like the in-ear IR thermometer because it's so fast, but a cheap mercury thermometer under the tongue is all you really need.


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## daveb (Mar 13, 2020)

Me thinks you're missing the spoof part.


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## bahamaroot (Mar 14, 2020)

I had to try this just because it was brought up. I stuck mine under my tongue in a position where I could just read it and it read 98*F. Think it's accurate enough and works just fine. High accuracy to ±0.7°F (±0.4°C) per Thermoworks.


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## Michi (Mar 14, 2020)

bahamaroot said:


> High accuracy to ±0.7°F (±0.4°C) per Thermoworks.


That's high accuracy for cooking, but not for taking someone's temperature.

Next time you get sick—quite possibly soon —see how you feel at 37.8 ºC compared to 38.6 ºC. Trust me, there is a _big_ difference.


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## bahamaroot (Mar 14, 2020)

I realize that is for food but 98.6F to 99.3F or 37.8 ºC to 38.2 ºC is not *that* big of a difference. Your temp going up a half degree doesn't indicate a high temperature.


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## Michi (Mar 14, 2020)

bahamaroot said:


> I realize that is for food but 98.6F to 99.3F or 37.8 ºC to 38.2 ºC is not *that* big of a difference.


It's a small difference. But once you hit about 38 ºC, every tenth of a degree really becomes increasingly noticeable. At 39 ºC, most people feel absolutely terrible; at 40 ºC, things start to become life-threatening. At the lower end, things become life-threatening at around 31 ºC or so—you'll have to ask Mengele for details 

We really can't tolerate much fluctuation as far as temperature is concerned. (Or CO2 level, or O2 level, or atmospheric pressure level, for that matter.) People are fragile…


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## Kippington (Mar 14, 2020)

I went to a doctor once, feeling really sick but with very little in the way of visible symptoms. I needed a medical certificate for time off work.
The doctor didn't care or thought I was lying, either way she wrote the certificate and that was about all that happened. As I was leaving I asked her to take my temperature with the fancy thermometer she had, and after poking it in my ear till it beeped, her eyes went wide as she glanced at the readout... I was 42°C/107°F.
I thanked her and left.


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## Michi (Mar 14, 2020)

Kippington said:


> As I was leaving I asked her to take my temperature with the fancy thermometer she had, and after poking it in my ear till it beeped, her eyes went wide as she glanced at the readout... I was 42°C/107°F.
> I thanked her and left.


What, she actually let you leave? At 42 ºC, you are like close to death. My guess is she knew that the infrared thermometer she used only provides a rough approximation of the real temperature.

If you want to know what your real temperature is, take a good old mercury glass thermometer and shove it under your tongue (or some other place), or use a thermocouple thermometer.


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## HRC_64 (Mar 14, 2020)

Kippington said:


> I asked her to take my temperature with the fancy thermometer she had....



she must have had a meat thermometer


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## Michi (Mar 14, 2020)

Those infrared thermometers actually have quite a good rap:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK263242/#S23

Anecdotally, my GP tells me that he doesn't entirely trusts them and double-checks with a contact thermometer if the IR reading doesn't line up with the clinical picture.


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## ModRQC (Mar 14, 2020)

1*C or 2*F is the meaningful Delta for a significant fever, not a threatening situation yet, causing noticeable yet still minimal distress to the body. I'm talking in Delta because core temperature varies individually: while MOST have 37*C, some are at 36*C normal, others at 38*C normal. Most food thermometers of good rep stand within the Delta and would do a fine job, although I'd probably do it a couple of times just to make sure if I saw a temperature that I'd consider feverish.


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## rickbern (Mar 14, 2020)

Actually no spoof. I was listening to a radio show and they said don’t visit the elderly if your temperature is above 100.4.

I agree, it’s not accurate enough but I took a baseline reading, better than nothing which is my only other option. 

Some great recommendations which I’m proud to say I didn’t attempt! Thanks all


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## Michi (Mar 14, 2020)

Generally, I can just feel it without a thermometer when I have an elevated temperature.


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## ian (Mar 14, 2020)

Yea, that’s why I don’t use a thermapen at all. I can generally tell the difference between 325 and 350 F by touch, for instance.

—-

Although more seriously, I’m starting to be able to identify 85-90 and 90-95 F water by touch, which is useful in bread making. I guess I’m proud of that since I only make a loaf once every week or two, so I haven’t practiced so much. Maybe this isn’t so impressive, though. Probably most of us can identify 104 degree bath water.


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## Nemo (Mar 14, 2020)

Michi said:


> Those infrared thermometers actually have quite a good rap:
> 
> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK263242/#S23
> 
> Anecdotally, my GP tells me that he doesn't entirely trusts them and double-checks with a contact thermometer if the IR reading doesn't line up with the clinical picture.



IR thermometers are notoriously error-prone. It's possible that this is partly due to user error but the emissivity of various body surfaces varies and this will affect the result. With ear thermometers, if you are scanning inside the ear and you don't line up with the eardrum or if there is wax in the way, you will get a low result.

Oh... and I definitely wouldn't advise checking liver temp in anyone who is still alive.


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## boomchakabowwow (Mar 19, 2020)

Kippington said:


> I went to a doctor once, feeling really sick but with very little in the way of visible symptoms. I needed a medical certificate for time off work.
> The doctor didn't care or thought I was lying, either way she wrote the certificate and that was about all that happened. As I was leaving I asked her to take my temperature with the fancy thermometer she had, and after poking it in my ear till it beeped, her eyes went wide as she glanced at the readout... I was 42°C/107°F.
> I thanked her and left.


107? Damn. They would have dunked your ass in ice water at 107, no?


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## rickbern (Mar 19, 2020)

Sorry. I should have followed up with you guys. I actually asked them. Here’s their answer, meanwhile it’s reassuring to stick that probe gingerly under my tongue 


Hi Rick, 

We don't recommend using the Thermapen to measure body temperature. The Thermapens pointed tip is designed to penetrate meat. Putting the tip of the probe in your mouth is dangerous. Thermometers designed for taking body temperature will lock on a temp. The Thermapen will show the change of temperature in your mouth as it occurs. 

I recommend finding a thermometer that is designed to take body temperature. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

*Josh Phillips*
Technical Support
741 E. Utah Valley Dr.
American Fork, UT 84003
toll-free: [email protected]
www.thermoworks.com
Follow Us


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## ModRQC (Mar 19, 2020)

42*C is on the verge of dead man walking. Perhaps an equipment misread.


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## daveb (Mar 19, 2020)

At one point Thermoworks sold a personal thermo. I had one I used for the dog - so as not to confuse it with the Bayer I used for me. His had the conventional rounded tip - and it did not go under his tongue...


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## ModRQC (Mar 19, 2020)

It’s funny, you’d swear there is a follow-up to that story...


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## Kippington (Mar 19, 2020)

ModRQC said:


> 42*C is on the verge of dead man walking.





Michi said:


> What, she actually let you leave?





boomchakabowwow said:


> 107? Damn. They would have dunked your ass in ice water at 107, no?


You gotta remember the context. She either didn't believe I was sick (till the end) or didn't care. It was a busy facility, late in the day and she looked tired. I was young (read: healthy), and my outward symptoms were mild. We had gone through the whole consultation and I was on my way out (I had stood up to leave). She had already made her conclusion and given me all I asked for (med-cert) beforehand. I felt terrible and just wanted to get out and go back home to bed. All these things combined to wrap up that last second temperature check very quickly.

Though she did look shocked as I walked out.


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## ModRQC (Mar 20, 2020)

Yep and I can believe it as everyone has varying tolerance to begin with, notwithstanding context and age. Medically I think 43-44 is pure delirium and over that untampered is death - I would think embolie but I’m no MD nor even close.


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## orangehero (Mar 20, 2020)

So has anyone actually taken their temperature with a thermapen yet? I would wager it's quite accurate and sufficient for the task.

I get 98.6°F with my Javelin pro thermometer under my tongue.


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## Michi (Mar 20, 2020)

orangehero said:


> I get 98.6°F with my Javelin pro thermometer under my tongue


Uh, uh… Now our health system will collapse under the load of dealing with too many tongue lacerations…


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## rickbern (Mar 20, 2020)

I’ve taken a few readings. Gotta do it looking in a mirror


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## ModRQC (Mar 22, 2020)

My cheap Javelin PT-09 : 97.1 *F peak temp - tip ever so slightly poked under the tongue, not just touching.

My cheap pharmacy branded thermometer reads just the same at the same spot which was easy to feel after having the other one poked there for 10-15 seconds.

The « real » thermometer has a 15 *C reading range. The PT-09 has what, about 250 *C + range? Not bad at all I say.

Edit: 9.99$ CAD thermometer/16.99$ CAD PT-09. 4 in. probe tapered tip Min/Max/Hold auto shutdown C/F switch in the batt compartment about 5 secs to read. A golden era of kitchen things.


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## ian (Mar 22, 2020)

Took several readings (oral, ear, armpit, rectal) while cooking yesterday. It didn’t seem so reliable, but maybe I wasn’t giving it enough time, or washing it sufficiently, since I was using it repeatedly for cooking too.


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## ian (Mar 22, 2020)

More seriously, I did take an under the arm read and got 95F. Close enough for government work, right?


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## ModRQC (Mar 22, 2020)

Lollllzzz


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## rickbern (Mar 22, 2020)

Devil’s gotta wait one more day for me!


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## daveb (Mar 22, 2020)

You lying down to get a more steady reading?


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## rickbern (Mar 22, 2020)

That’s me at my verticalist. Stupid phone. Can’t tell up from sideways.


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## bahamaroot (Apr 15, 2020)

ThermoWorks WAND™ - Non-Contact Digital Forehead Thermometer - https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/suite


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## rickbern (Apr 15, 2020)

Haha. Got this at 7am, I ordered it at about 7:15. I think these things are going to be crucial going forward


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## rickbern (May 4, 2020)

Got it. 


Peace of mind!!!


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## sudsy9977 (May 4, 2020)

I almost ordered one of those. I thought they weren’t shipping for a while. Guess not


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