Temperature difference between forehead and armpit

Many people don't understand the temperature difference between the forehead and the armpit. Body temperature refers to the internal temperature of the human body. There are many ways to measure it. The oral and rectal temperatures are closest to the internal temperature of the human body, but this method is not very convenient. The temperature of the armpit is slightly lower than the body temperature, and the temperature of the forehead is even lower than the armpit temperature. Let us take a closer look at the temperature difference between the forehead and armpits.

"When taking your baby's temperature, safety and accuracy are the most important." In terms of the material of the thermometer, it can be divided into four types: glass mercury thermometer, electronic thermometer, infrared thermometer and chemical punctuation thermometer. There are five parts of the human body that can be used to measure body temperature, namely the armpit, forehead, ear canal, mouth and rectum. The temperature measured by each thermometer is different, and the temperature in different parts of the body has different fever standards.

Mercury-in-glass thermometers are the most accurate. Traditional glass mercury thermometers can be used to measure armpit temperature as well as oral and rectal temperature. "If it is used to measure oral or rectal temperature, it should be used exclusively for children and disinfected with alcohol before and after use," said Dong Lijuan. A temperature under the arm is usually considered a fever if it is over 37 degrees Celsius, while the fever standard for oral and rectal measurements is over 38 degrees Celsius (over 37.5 degrees Celsius for older children). It should be noted that it is not recommended to measure oral and rectal temperature for children under 5 years old, because the child is too young and the thermometer can be easily bitten when placed in the mouth, which will not only injure the child, but the leaked mercury will cause greater harm to the child. When measuring rectal temperature, it is difficult to control the strength and depth of insertion, and it is also relatively dangerous.

2. Electronic thermometers should be calibrated regularly. Electronic thermometers are easy to use and have a short measurement time. Results are available in about 1 minute, making them more suitable for active children. But this type of product also has a problem, which is that it needs frequent calibration. For families who cannot do this, the most important thing is for parents to master the basal body temperature measured by the thermometer. For example, a child's normal body temperature is 36.5 degrees Celsius, but using an electronic thermometer the basal body temperature becomes 37 degrees Celsius. Then as long as the child does not exceed this temperature every day, it is normal.

3. Infrared ear canal thermometers are not suitable for babies. An infrared ear canal thermometer is similar to a digital thermometer, except that it measures the temperature in the ear canal, and a temperature over 37 degrees Celsius is considered a fever. "It should be noted that ear canal temperature measurement is not recommended for infants under 3 months old, because the ear canal of children is delicate and it may hurt the child if not done properly."

4. Infrared forehead thermometers are greatly affected by ambient temperature. A forehead thermometer measures the temperature of the forehead. Theoretically, a temperature over 37 degrees Celsius is considered a fever. Although it is convenient to measure forehead temperature, it is greatly affected by the surrounding temperature. For example, if you just come back from outside in winter, the forehead temperature will definitely be very low; if you just finished exercising in the sun in summer, the forehead temperature will definitely be higher.