To not own a thermometer?

[Reali]

In five kids I’ve never needed one, either they have a fever to treat/ are ill or not. I look for signs like flushed cheeks, warm nape of the neck, lethargy etc. One gets super hot easily, one can be really ill before getting hot... I don’t worry so much about numbers.

Just told a friend and she seems to think it’s pretty neglectful.

Is it that unusual not to?

@Reali No she wasn’t especially ill with it at all. Off her food and very hot. 111 needed to know her temp and to know how it responded to Calpol and Nurofen over 2hrs before deciding if we should come in. She was hot and unhappy but that’s it. I couldn’t feel the difference between 39 and 40 which was the cut off for them sending us in as a fever that responds to drugs is very different to one that doesn’t.

We were asked to record her temp 2 hourly for 24hrs as they wanted to avoid us coming in (due to Covid but also because we live an hour from hospital).

I have three kids ageing from 8 to 14. I have a thermometer that I got in the first aid kit but we don't use it. Does that count?
Only time it ever got used was when I had influenza. But mostly curiosity to "what my temp is now". I was well aware I had a fever.
The kids are very, very rarely ill and when they are it's just a couple of hours. A 24hr bug going round lasts an afternoon, max. And they don't seem to catch stuff between themselves. A forehead kiss is a great way of seeing how hot they are.

Surely its illegal, what with Covid and everything?

We've got loads, even got one for the greenhouse (and that's never been ill.)

I have never owned a thermometer until six months ago when I got us one each at the start of covid. I don’t have children but my parents had four and we never had a thermometer in the house.

As a paediatric nurse I never needed a thermometer to know if one of my children/grandchildren had a temperature, but there was usually one lurking around in the very basic first aid box.

However, if I had 5 children in these Covid times I would have one to hand, particularly as pyrexia is a symptom. If you need to ring 111 the first thing they'll ask is temperature.

It's handy to have should you ever need to ring 111 for a poorly person, as pp have mentioned. And I guess now that most GP appointments are over the phone (I think) you may need to tell them whether you or your kids have a temp. Other than that if you're not bothered then it's not a big deal.

Funnily enough I’ve just ordered one. Children are 15 and 9 and I’ve never really used one before. Trying to decide whether to send 9yo to school with a blocked nose this morning and not being able to check her temperature had made me order one.

Nope I've never had one. If they have a temp, they will feel hot to touch.

i think you should have one, even a forehead strip, just for reassurance.
although i misread mine once and demanded a gp appointment because my son's appointment was so high
they did let me have one though

i bought one due to the pandemic

Yanbu I've never had one beyond unreliable freebies that expired and I never replaced as I never used them.
Kids are 5 & 9 and I know when they're ill or have a temp.
I've ordered one now though as school want to know if they have temperatures over 37. something... I think, which is a bit ridiculous and would need to be more accurate.

Useful now, when corona is only suspected over 38.5. Lower than that and it's just a cold

We do have one, after A&E were pretty unimpressed I couldn't tell them how high DH's temperature had been - he was very unwell, and uncomfortably hot to touch, so I'm guessing north of 40 (this is years ago, pre-Covid).

It's occasionally been useful during phone consultations since, but as PP's have said, you can feel if a child has a temperature, and whether it's a bit high or very high anyway.

I wouldn't want to be without one in the house. Aren't they very cheap, if you get a simple one? Seems like a basic thing to have, like aspirin or plasters. I find it useful to be able to check my own temperature. It's difficult to tell without one, sometimes.

I've never owned one, back of my hand tells me what I need to know

I have never felt the need but the upsurge in COVID prevalence makes me think that one would be useful and close to required equipment particularly if I still had school aged children.

Same here op, 5 children and never had one but that being said there's no harm in having one, I've just never felt I needed a precise temperature check to see that the children are not well. sunken eyes and pale complexion are a surefire sign that my DC are unwell.
I know they are pretty useful, just never bought one

@RedCatBlueCat

We bought one when all the covid shitstorm hit. Until then weve managed very nicely without one. Ill child - pain relief, regardless of temperature. Child warm to touch, but otherwise cheerful, keep an eye on them, lots of fluids and leave them be.

Treat the child, not the symptoms.

I think this very true

I have always known my children were ill or had a temperature without a thermometer and an instrument telling me in digits that they had a fever wouldn’t have altered what I was already doing : fluids, checking for rash lethargic etc etc.

I do have one and occasionally use it but it can cause stress and anxiety
I am also not sure how accurate mine is or the previous one since they never seem the same as a GP or another clinicians

@movingonup20

One must assume you don't take rectal temperatures then?

@YukoandHiro could you expand on this?

Useful now, when corona is only suspected over 38.5. Lower than that and it's just a cold

I know a couple of people who have had confirmed covid with no temperature at all.

I need one for MYSELF!

Had a fever of 40c a few years ago. Didn't realise/suspect. Only went to GP when I had gone three days without being able to keep food down and one day not being able to keep water down. Ended up in hospital for 4 days - first day on IV paracetamol.

When you're the one with the fever it's hard to think logically.

Doc told me to get one but I can't decide - so many reviews, types, prices...

I didn’t own one until my children were 6 and 8, than my mum found out /shocked and terrified/ and bought me one. So, for the last 4 years I am the proud owner of a brand new, never used thermometer.

I don’t have one, I was tempted to get one at the start of covid mainly because I was curious about a baseline, but they were expensive then so I didn’t. I now have my temperature checked for entry into a couple of places I go regularly and they always seem to say 34-35 degrees but that doesn’t seem right. I’m guessing the last time I had my temperature checked was as a child.

I don’t need them to see if calpol works because my children refuse calpol, as well as any other medication you can think of, so I don’t have any of that either. I’ve bought many bottles over the years but may as well have poured them down the sink for all the good they did, it would have been a deal less sticky than having it spat back at me.

I would just get one. The first thing any medical professional asks about an ill kid is Do they have a temperature? You can get a thermometer for a couple of quid.

Official nhs covid guidelines say you don't need a thermometer to check for a fever.

I do own one now but I didn't for years.. but tbh you can really tell if one of mine have a fever! They get really poorly and you can feel if their hot!!

You've managed without one for 5 kids. I'm sure you know best as their mum 🌸