Exergen Infrared Thermometer: like a gentle kiss to the forehead
Written: Jan 15 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: don't have to stick it anywhere unpleasant; easy to use; accurate enough; really fast
Cons: feedback beeps and lights not clear; no thermometer is 100% accurate
The Bottom Line: The fastest and easiest way to accurately take a baby's temperature
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| ngurevic's Full Review: Exergen Temporal Scanner Infrared Thermometer |
I'm always suspicious of new products that come along and claim they do everything better. There's always a lot of hype and "new" and "improved" and more often than not the words "as seen on TV..." associated with these gadgets, and I tend to instinctively ignore such claims and laugh at even the idea something could be better than what has been available on the market. Then I think hang on, there is research and it is in fact possible that research may lead to some improvement of some products... but how do you know when to believe the hype? I guess that's where consumer reviews like epinions can help. So I figure that having tested one of the newer products on the market, the infrared thermometer, and finding it indeed a great and improved product, I should help spread the word and let other interested parties know that in this case the new gadget is a true innovation.
Who needs a thermometer?
When it was just my husband and me we did not take temperatures. We could sort of guess when one of us had a fever, which won that person an extra "oh, poor you" sympathy nod before life moved on. But enter baby and temperature becomes a critical issue. With newborns there are specific guidelines as to when to call a doctor and when to panic (not that ANY written advice on the matter agrees on which exact temperature is critical, but that's a different story). What is clear is that taking temperature became necessary and so we bought a thermometer. Then we bought another one. Finally we bought the Exergen infrared thermometer (well... actually my mom bought it for us... heh heh).
The first two were digital underarm types (also could pass as oral or rectal, I suppose). They took some negotiations to get under the baby's arm and keep it there long enough to get a temperature that each time was completely different from the time before in the space of a few minutes.
As the 3rd thermometer to enter my household, however, the Exergen one immediately became the most used. Not only is it easy and quick to use on an impatient (especially when feverish) baby, but it also does not require washing after each use which is ALWAYS a bonus.
If you've never heard of this relatively new product before here is a description and then the pros and cons.
Product Description:
The Exergen thermometer uses infrared technology to quickly (and according to the company that manufactures it "consistently accurately") measure temperature. To use it you gently pass it across the forehead and you get a digital reading. According to the company it has been clinically tested for accuracy in comparison to other thermometers. Here is their claim from the Exergen website (http://www.exergen.com):
"The TemporalScanner Thermometer has been clinically tested for accuracy compared to rectal thermometers and temperature sensors inserted in the heart during course of patient treatment and accepted for use in major hospitals, making it the ideal thermometer for use with newborns, infants, children or adults."
The good:
Indeed, it appears that the medical field does use this product, which lends credibility to the company's claims. It also has very good reviews from shoppers on Amazon.com and here at Epinions.com.
I have had mine for just over a month and I find it very quick and mostly easy to use. It is certainly easier to use on a newborn than an underarm thermometer. Other options for newborns include ear and rectal thermometers. The first of these is a product specifically designed for the ear and apparently was considered the most accurate way to measure a newborn's temperature before infrared technology was widely available. I've never owned such a product and have never even seen an ear thermometer used so I cannot comment on this topic. But as far as rectal thermometers go, I would just as soon not use them.
The Exergen thermometer takes a reading by just being passed across the forehead which is something that can be done no matter how fidgety a baby is. Almost no amount of squirming can interfere with this type of temperature taking because the scanning is done so quickly. This is a huge benefit and is the main reason I have given up on all other thermometers in my household in favor of this one.
And of course, as I mention above, due to the fact it only comes in contact with one's forehead it does not require washing after each use. Less washing is always a good thing.
The not-so-good:
Everyone seems to claim that this is the most accurate thermometer on the face of the planet. That may indeed be the case, but it cannot possibly be 100% accurate. If it were, would it have a different reading each time I use it in a space of 5 minutes? Still, the difference between the readings I take in a short time is much smaller than the difference I used to get with my first two digital (underarm) thermometers. So I deduce from this that although the Exergen thermometer is not perfectly accurate, it certainly is more so than my other scanners.
My only other problem with this thermometer is that its beeps and lights and other indicators of when it is scanning and when it is done reading the temperature are very confusing. You're supposed to press a button and then it beeps and the lights flicker quickly and I guess the reading is done when they flicker slowly... huh? It's not THAT difficult to use, but each time I pick it up I have to scan my kid's forehead a couple of times to remind myself how to use it. It's not that big a deal, but I find it irritating and a tad confusing. I'm assuming future models from this company will be a little less beepy and flashy.
Summary:
A thermometer is a vital part of a family's medicine cabinet. Several such products are available to the public, and for years it seemed that in order to get a truly accurate reading a thermometer had to be invasive. Sort of the idea that the deeper into the body that you stick it the more likely it is to measure the body's true temperature. That seems somehow intuitively true, and it is nice to find out that it is not. Whew (that's a collective sigh of relief of many a baby).
The Exergen Infrared thermometer is very easy to use, even on a squirmy newborn; it takes a measurement extremely quickly (way faster than any other thermometer I've ever seen, even in the hospital); and it appears to be about as accurate as a thermometer can get. And if you look for a good bargain you can buy it for about the same price as regular digital thermometers (around $30). I say if you ever plan to take anyone's temperature, and especially if that anyone is a child, get one of these.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
ngurevic
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Member: Naomi Gurevich
Reviews written: 61
Trusted by: 26 members
About Me:
I finished my Doctorate (in Linguistics) and had a kid. now what?!
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