MARVELOUS NEW THERMOMETER

One of the scariest moments of a new mother’s life is when she feels baby’s forehead and it feels hotter than usual.  Trying to keep calm and not panic is the first thing she thinks.  Then the next thing she thinks is “Oh, where is that thermometer.”

Once she finds the thermometer then comes the problem of how she is going to administer this thing.  Baby’s behind is the place she thinks of first.  But if baby is wiggling and screaming, it is a dangerous thing she is thinking of doing.  Wiggling and screaming babies make it almost impossible to administer a thermometer.

When I was young, (quite awhile ago) instead of worrying about a thermometer when baby had a fever, I’d simply undress baby and get into cool shower with all my clothes on — hugging baby — until the fever broke.

Well, girls, all of this is no longer necessary.  Not only have pediatrics improved exponentially since I was young, but now comes along a brand new thermometer that is phenomenal.  It’s called  Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer MODEL# 2000C.  You simply hold it gently at the skin surface on baby’s temporal artery (a major artery) and you have the temperature almost immediately.

The temporal artery is connected to baby’s heart via the carotid artery and it receives constant blood flow. It is the only such artery positioned close enough to the skin surface to provide access needed to take an accurate measurement. This makes the thermometer very easy to use because the artery is ideally located at the front portion of baby’s forehead.  As you gently stroke the thermometer across baby’s forehead crossing over the temporal artery, the sensor in its probe performs two processes: First it scans like a video camera, capturing naturally emitted infrared heat from the arterial blood supply at about 1000 “frames” per second, locking in the highest temperature it senses.  Second, at the same time, a patented system measures the ambient temperature of the site where the temperature is being taken. The patented “arterial heat balance” (AHB) software then synthesizes the two separate readings to accurately determine and display body temperature.

All I can say is “Wow.”  That is indeed phenomenal.  And the best part of all this is:  the price is not bad at all for something that provides this much ease and comfort.  I believe it is somewhere in the fifty dollar range — a small price to pay for such peace of mind.  And another wonderful thing is that you can buy one at Walgreens, ToysRus, BabiesRus, Costco, Sams Club, or Walmart.  Go to the Exergen website for a five dollar mailin coupon.

This is some of the best news I’ve heard in a long time.

Love to all from Grandma Bugpuddles.