In ear thermometer recommendations ?

[Cheesychop]

has anyone bought one? And if so which one please?

Since being pregnant I appear to have lost all ability to make any decision at all!

We impulsed bought this one: www.johnlewis.com/braun-thermoscan-irt-3020-compact-baby-ear-thermometer/p231812574

Haven't used it yet so can't give you any feedback i'm afraid! :)

We've got a Braun one - not sure which model but it's been great. think it was about £40

In ear thermometers aren't recommended for babies as they give unreliable results due to the ear canal being too small. Hospitals will use under arm thermometers, so that's what we bought.

Your supposed to buy an in ear thermometer????

Lol but really. We didn't get one till 11 months when dd had a raging chest infection and I carried her flopped over me in boots and got the cheapest one I could find. 2 years later it still does the trick. Can't remember the brand but does the trick and you don't need to spend a fortune on one

Really giraffe I didn't know that. I thought ear ones would be ok.

I'm just worried about baby being too hot with this odd weather we are having.

I was recommended by the hospital peadeatricians to buy an in ear thermometer as they give the most accurate readings. Ours was displaying a 3 degree difference to the hospital Braun one.........

NHS website says "Ear (or tympanic) thermometers allow you to take a temperature reading from the ear. These thermometers are quick but expensive, and can give misleading readings, especially in babies, if they’re not correctly placed in the ear."

There have been threads on here where people have panicked about low temperatures in babies, but it has been from an in-ear thermometer not measuring correctly.

When my DS was in hospital with an infection, they used an under-arm one for their checks, and I asked them about it!

I second noblegiraffe in so far as childs age makes a difference as to whether the reading is a concern or not. I didn't know under arm thermometers were better though tbh. We've bought a Braun age precision one, where you can input the child's age first and it should be calibratedo to take that into account.

Actually this is going to sound really thick, but what we've bought doesn't specify if its an in ear one or not... does that mean I've bought a mouth one?? No instructions as to where to stick it!! I would have thought that made a difference!

I have the basic Braun one in my work bag (gp) it's fine over about6 months but under that you're better off with a underarm one, as the tympanic is fiddly on a small wriggler. I didn't get an extra one!

Hmmm, I'm even more confused now ha. I'll see what my midwife says without me stating which one I was going to buy then.

Cheesy, I'd suggest that if you're worried enough to take a temp, will knowing it stop you being worried? If so, you probably don't need one as will make you more anxious. If not, you probably need to miss out. The temperature-taking and head to gp for a full check up.

Childrens wards use underarm. They need to have that accuracy. At home you only need hot, normal or cold, really, and can argue you only need worry - not worry, which isn't just on temp! Underarm ones are a bigger investment, and although ok on the rest of the family, tympanic is recommended later, so will get more use.

I'd suggest a cheapish thermometer and spend the saving on a decent first aid kit and or child first aid course.

And for home use, the covers can be treated as single person use rather than single use, so can reuse throughout an illness. (Unless it's a runny ear situation (in which case you should use the other ear anyway)