Aural thermometers

Re: Aural thermometers

Rob Loxley — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 13:44:12 GMT

[quote user="Wren"]

[quote user="robloxley"]

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]How many folk use digital thermometers for rectal temps?[/quote]

Yup, and buy ones that read in 5 seconds

[/quote]

That doesn't give you much thinking time! Like chest auscultating I like to use a minute or so taking a temperature to gather my thoughts!

[/quote]

Agreed, but I can stand there for a minute thinking, whereas the wriggling cat who is really objecting appreciates a faster reading!

Re: Aural thermometers

Wren — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 11:33:03 GMT

[quote user="robloxley"]

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]How many folk use digital thermometers for rectal temps?[/quote]

Yup, and buy ones that read in 5 seconds

[/quote]

That doesn't give you much thinking time! Like chest auscultating I like to use a minute or so taking a temperature to gather my thoughts!

Re: Aural thermometers

Rob Loxley — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 23:34:20 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]How many folk use digital thermometers for rectal temps?[/quote]

Yup, and buy ones that read in 5 seconds

Re: Aural thermometers

Fenella — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 17:26:20 GMT

In reference to the original question, here are results from a small study on aural vs rectal thermometers in dogs. May just be a student study, but still gives a bit of an answer: that the readings are not interchangeable.

http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/168/9/248.1.full.pdf+html?sid=0c1660d3-aac6-4d6b-941b-42303e670d0a

Re: Aural thermometers

KMurphy — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 17:16:35 GMT

All good points. I'll carry on with my trusted mercury thermometer at the moment but apparently you can't get them any more. Digital from now on then :)

Re: Aural thermometers

Mark Hedberg — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 17:15:26 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]

Useless fact of the day: if you broke a single mercury thermometer on a plane the reaction between the small amount of mercury and the aluminium of the aircraft would cause it to be written off. I was told this was a main reason for banning them.

[/quote]

Great, airport security wasn't bad enough?! :p

Re: Aural thermometers

James Laidlaw — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 15:56:54 GMT

I remember proudly setting foot on a farm in my first few days as a qualified vet and vigorously shaking down my thermometer onto the milking floor, pausing, and saying something to the effect of "I don't think I really needed to take a temperature for this one today". Fortunately the farmer thought it was hilarious.

Re: Aural thermometers

Michael Woodhouse — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 15:52:07 GMT

I hate mercury thermometers. The only use I had for them was converting Celsius to Fahrenheit when a new grad!

I prefer Celsius but seems all the digital ones in the practice at the moment are Fahrenheit.

I've killed at least two mercury thermometers in a shower of glass ans poisonousness metal shaking them down.

Re: Aural thermometers

Dagmar Steele — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 15:50:23 GMT

Digital. The version that only takes ten seconds max. Broke a mercury one twenty years ago, what a mess.

Re: Aural thermometers

Utlendigur — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 15:26:34 GMT

[quote user="Ian Mostyn"]Why can't they make Fahrenheit digital thermometers?[/quote]

They can

https://shop.jakmarketing.co.uk/categories.php?catid=89&mcat=73

http://www.vet-direct.co.uk/default.php?sid=VD-7972-4997-6477 (DTF001)

Re: Aural thermometers

Ian Mostyn — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 15:20:22 GMT

I have only broken 1 mercury thermometer in 14 years when I dropped it. I hate the digital ones and am dreading the day when my supply runs out. Why can't they make Fahrenheit digital thermometers? I wouldn't use an ear based one though for the same reasons above.

It does remind me of an old joke though. "What is the difference between an oral and rectal thermometer? The taste"

Sorry, Ian

Re: Aural thermometers

Clive Ansell — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 15:06:04 GMT

I've never had a mercury thermometer break, although to everyone's amusement I lost one in a horses rectum when I was student. I've never lived it down, and to this day I have copious amounts of urine removed on a regular basis. According to a colleague it was found in the rectum of another horse 70 miles away.

Re: Aural thermometers

Mark Hedberg — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 15:00:20 GMT

Digital. Mercury takes forever and fragile.

Re: Aural thermometers

Clive Ansell — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 14:59:41 GMT

How many folk use digital thermometers for rectal temps? I still prefer mercury ones.

Re: Aural thermometers

jane lyons — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 14:07:38 GMT

I agree with Clive. I bought one for my practice several years ago and used it very little for the reasons he mentions In fact I also used the thermal microchips for a while and found that the rectal temperatures did not correlate with the thermal microchip readings either. I am still using a rectal thermometer .

Re: Aural thermometers

Dagmar Steele — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 14:00:33 GMT

useless...., what Clive said.

Re: Aural thermometers

Clive Ansell — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 13:34:20 GMT

One of my regular practices has one, but I have stopped using it.

I don't think it was very accurate and on several occasions the results did not correlate with a bio-therm chip or a rectal measurement taken at the same time.
Some cats seem to resent it
temperamental to use and often would not register a reading, certainly in cases of otitis externa
with snappy dogs or stroppy cats rectal measurement is easier

Re: Aural thermometers

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 13:25:59 GMT

I believe they work by measuring radiation from the tympanum (if I'm wrong, disregard all this).

Considerations:

Would it work round the bend?

Would it work in a canal some two inches long?

Would it work through a load of gunge?

Would it work through a mass of corrugated integument?