Nursing mothers should have a thermometer. It’s as important as having wipes and diapers. Babies will get sick as they grow up, it’s normal and there is little you can do to prevent them from getting fever or some other minor sickness that might leave them with sudden increase in body temperature.
Most of these symptoms will present themselves as a result of change in the weather condition, teething or other physiological changes that occurs as a result of growth.
You need a thermometer to keep an eye on your baby’s temperature every now and then. This article is a complete guide on buying the best baby thermometer. The ideal baby body temperature should be about 97F, anything above 100F is an indication of fever and proper medical attention is needed.
Although getting a thermometer isn’t a rocket science, it’s equally not as easy as walking into a store and picking up any thermometer. At best; you end up buying an inaccurate thermometer, and at the very worst, you end up with a thermometer that is overpriced and inappropriate for your baby’s age.
To prevent any of these from happening; I have sorted through the list of baby’s thermometers that are currently available of amazon, and compared them based on varieties of factors and users reviews to come up with a comprehensive list of best thermometer for baby.
Best Baby Thermometer 2019
Since the traditional use of hand examination would not produce a reliable result, and your baby cannot tell you how they feel precisely; aside cry in discomfort, then a need for accurate baby thermometer cannot be over emphasized.
Only five baby thermometers are recommended in this article; as I don’t intend to overwhelming you with several options resulting into paradox of choice. I have labelled each of the recommended product based on what I think they’re best for. The only decision you will be making is based on your preference as listed below.
Safety 1st Gentle Read Rectal Thermometer (Best Baby Thermometer For The Money!)
This is the cheapest baby thermometer that actually works. It does not only provide accurate body temperature reading in less than ten (10) seconds; it’s equally affordable. While it is affordable, most parents would not opt for a rectal thermometer for the fear of over inserting the device into the baby’s anus, this particular thermometer is designed in such a way that such mistake cannot occur.
The benefit of a rectal thermometer over other thermometer is that, it provides a better readings of the baby’s temperature without influence from environmental factor that may otherwise affect readings on other thermometer.
Gentle read rectal thermometer is perfectly designed to get the job done with uttermost perfection. It’s simple enough to make the process easy for anybody. With a single button that powers it, and a screen that displays the reading, it presents a simple interphase that can be easily understood by users.
The screen has a back-light that makes it easy to use even in dark places. Temperature reading is done in approximately eight (8) seconds, after which a long beep sound comes up to indicate that the temperature has been measured.
For babies that are less than three months; this thermometer is highly recommended. Based on users experience and in comparison to other types of thermometers, rectal thermometer gets the job done as far as accuracy is concerned when measure temperature of infants below three(3) months.
The downside?
If you’re familiar with handling infants, you will agree with me that ten (10) seconds is a really long time to get something done; especially when they’re crying or in discomfort.
Remember to lubricate the tip with water based lubricant like Jelly before usage, and also clean with alcohol after usage.
If the amount of time it takes to get the reading done isn’t a factor that bothers you, and you intend to save cost for best value, then read no further, because this is the perfect thermometer for your baby’s need.
Thermoscan 5 (Best Baby Ear Thermometer)
Coming second on the list is the thermoscan5 thermometer. It has the feature of a regular thermometer that makes it suitable for a baby. Traditionally, it’s hard to place an ear thermometer accurately at the right place to get accurate reading.
Thermoscan5 is designed in such a way that the guess work is completely eliminated. The thermometer will tell you what if it has been wrongly placed by flashing a POS text on the screen. Another common issue with ear thermometer is the tendency of giving an inaccurate result due to coldness of the tip before usage.
Thermoscan5 has a pre-heated tip which basically eliminate the chances of having an inaccurate result due to cold tip. This baby thermometer is considered ideal for baby’s above 6 months old. Of all the features; the best thing about this thermometer is how fast and efficient it is. Capable of providing accurate reading in less than three (3) seconds; making it easy to get the job done, before the baby knows what’s going on.
Two downside however; the screen does not have a back light, making it difficult to use the device in the dark. If your baby has some sort of ear infection, it becomes almost impossible to use because they would not let you go anywhere near their ear, talk less of inserting a thermometer into it; no matter how fast it works.
Three reasons why you should choose these thermometer is as follows; if reading speed and accuracy is of importance, if budget is not an issue of concern, if your baby is well above six (6) months and you would rather use an ear thermometer over a rectal thermometer, then this is the perfect choice of thermometer for you baby.
Exergen Temporal Scan Forehead (Best Forehead/Infrared Thermometer)
When it comes to babies; answers are needed really fast, mostly because when they’re in discomfort every single seconds count. This explains why rectal or ear thermometer might be slow in some cases. Most forehead thermometers like the exergen temporal thermometer are capable of providing answers in three (3) seconds give or take.
Although not as accurate as most rectal thermometer, it still gets the job done. By swiping the device across the baby’s forehead, the thermometer relies on measuring the heat emitted from the temporal artery on the forehead to accurately predict the baby’s temperature.
It’s technically impossible to use an ear or rectal thermometer on a sleeping baby without waking them up. A forehead thermometer makes it easy for parents to measure their baby’s temperature without disturbing their sleep.
The major downside of this thermometer is that it takes time before you get master how to place it properly. You need to know the precise course of the temporal artery to be able to get the accurate reading.
Based on user’s experience, the reading may also be influenced by the temperature of the room, which is a common issue associated with all non-rectal thermometers.
This baby thermometer is highly recommended if using a rectal thermometer is an option for you.
Braun Forehead Thermometer (Another Forehead/Infrared Thermometer).
Swipe across the forehead, and you have your baby’s temperature measured in less than three (3) seconds. Well, it goes beyond that, aside displaying the baby’s temperature on the screen, it has also been programmed to flash three different type of backlight based on the readings to indicate your baby’s health status.
If everything is perfectly normal, then a green light comes up in the background, if the the temperature is a little bit above normal, then a yellow backlight comes up, while red backlight is a sign that you need to make a trip to your pediatrician.
Braun’s products are usually designed to be extremely easy for users. This forehead thermometer is not an exemption. It features two buttons; one that power the device on, and the other that user holds when taking temperature.
This thermometer is recommended for babies above the age of three (3) months. It relies on infrared technology to determine the baby’s body temperature which gives room for a certain level of inaccuracy, considering the effect of other external factors.
The braun’s forehead thermometer is perfect if you’re willing to sacrifice cost for time. Based on user’s review, the device has been said to go off with a margin of +3 degree Fahrenhit, which is a really big margin, especially when dealing with babies.
Overall, I do not recommend this product for babies below the age of three (3) months. Although it comes handy in instant diagnosis (in reference to the backlight color that changes based on readings).
Buying A Thermometer For Your Baby.
As mentioned in the introductory part of this guide; a thermometer is one of the items that you should have in your home first aid box. There is a wide range of options to choose for, but I have streamlined the recommendations in this post to four types of thermometer based on their location of usage.
In buying a thermometer for your baby, there are several factors to be considered, and I will highlight those factors explaining why you should consider one above the other.
Rectal Thermometer: This type of thermometer provides the most accurate result when it comes to measuring baby’s temperature.
Aside being the best type of thermometer for babies below the age of six (6) months, it’s also one of the cheapest thermometer type on the market. However, most parents dont have the “nerve” to insert the thermometer into their baby’s anus for the fear of over inserting it into their rectum.
The thermometer recommended in this guide is designed in such a way that over-insertion is prevented. If you have a baby below the age of six (6) month, then you should opt for a rectal thermometer over any other type of thermometer recommended in this article.
There are two downside to using a rectal thermometer; the first being the inability to use the thermometer without waking up the child without waking up the child if they were to be sleeping. The second being the time it takes to get the reading done. A typical rectal thermometer takes about ten (10) seconds to get the temperature taken, which is a long period of time when it comes to dealing with babies.
Forehead Thermometer: As far as measurement accuracy is concerned, a forehead thermometer (also known as temporal-artery thermometer) is the second-best type of thermometer for babies.
It works basically by measuring the amount of heat emitted by the temporal artery the passes across the forehead. One of the benefits of a forehead thermometer aside being non-invasive is the speed at which it gives the temperature feedback.
A typical forehead thermometer will provide accurate measurement in less than four (4) seconds. The major downside of a forehead thermometer is that; it takes a bit of practice to accurately position the thermometer for a good readings.
It’s well suited for babies above the age of three (3) months.
Ear Thermometer: This is another type of thermometer that is popularly used in homes and hospitals. It provides a fairly accurate readings as compared to the forehead thermometer. It’s safe and quick to use. The only downside however; just like the forehead thermometer is that it takes a bit of practice to master it’s usage.
The ear thermometer recommended in this guide is designed in such a way that it tells you if the thermometer is wrongly placed. Therefore this issue of inaccuracy due to improper placement is not an issue of concern if you get the recommended baby ear thermometer in this article.
Pacifier Thermometer (The Thermometer you should NOT buy): They’re builtin with a pacifier. Based on several studies, it’s been shown that the reading provided by this type of thermometer is never accurate, and as such doctors discouraged parents from using this type of thermometer for their child.
Other types of thermometer: There are about four to five types of thermometer in the market aside the ones listed above. Behind-ear thermometer, oral thermometer, axillary thermometer and smart phone thermometers are also available in market.
I choose not to write about them in this post because they are not considered the best type of thermometer for babies. They’re either too complicated to use or does not provide accurate readings that is appropriate for the baby.
Safety and Other Important Things
This section contains few of the things you should consider in using a thermometer for your baby.
It’s important that you get a thermometer that suits your baby’s age. Most children above the age of two will object to the use of a rectal thermometer. Read the section on recommended baby thermometer above to see which of the item is suitable for your baby’s age.
If you’re using an invasive thermometer (rectal or ear thermometer), always remember to clean the thermometer before and after usage, to prevent exposure to bacterial.
There are multi-purpose thermometer. It’s in the real sense a marketing gimmick. If you end up buying one of the “multipurpose” thermometer, make sure you choose where to use it on your baby and stick to it. It’s totally gross to use the same thermometer on the rectum as well as the ear or arm-pit.
