Thermometers – why STEADYTEMP is a better choice.

Thermometers - why STEADYTEMP is a better choice when a child is sick.

Let’s be honest, you usually know just by looking at your child whether it has a fever or not. The glassy eyes and listless behaviour are an immediate giveaway that their body is fighting an infection. The first thing you do is feel their forehead and once you have confirmed it is warm you look for a thermometer to see if they are running a fever and how high. You will probably already have a thermometer at home, possibly even several. There is a wide choice available on the market. The classic analogue thermometer (without mercury please!), a digital “stick” thermometer which can be used either under the arm or under the tongue, ear (tympanic) thermometers which measure the temperature in the ear canal, infrared thermometers which scan the forehead and strip or tape thermometers which are placed on the forehead.

Single temperature measurements show a picture, continuous measurement shows a film.

One thing all these thermometers have in common however is that they only give you single, momentary measurements. They tell you what your temperature is right now, but not what it was 2 hours ago, whether the fever spiked during the night or what the highest temperature that day was. Some of these thermometers are also not very accurate or only accurate when used properly - if an ear thermometer is not placed correctly in the ear the reading won’t be accurate. An oral thermometer is not suitable if a child is shivering or too young to keep it under their tongue and strip thermometers are not suitable if you need an accurate reading. Continuous temperature measurement on the other hand shows the full story; when the temperature began to rise and just how high it reached. Temperature curves, trends and averages are all recorded as well as highest temperature in the last 24 hours. STEADYTEMP® is a smart wearable thermometer which is now available for home use. Continuous 24/7 body temperature measurements mean that families can now enjoy professional health care in the comfort of theirhome.

Peace of mind for parents

Thankfully with STEADYTEMP® there is now a new option on the market. A thermometer which is easy to use, accurate and shows a temperature curve. STEADYTEMP® measures body temperature continuously over several days. The non-invasive sensor patch reads body temperature 24/7 – even while you sleep. This means you no longer miss fever spikes and have an accurate graphical display of temperature over the whole day. Peace of mind for a parent. When your child is sick you will want a method of monitoring its temperature that is accurate, reliable and doesn’t disturb a child that is already miserable.

What is fever?

A rise in body temperature is usually one of the first signs that our immune system is battling a bug. Fever is the body’s own tool to fight infection, it is a symptom of a disease rather than the disease itself, but it can also give us information about the infection. A very high temperature which you can’t bring down using over-the-counter medicines is a sign that you need professional help quickly while a fever that never gets too high and doesn’t need treatment with over-the-counter medicine may be a sign that the body is managing just fine by itself.

No one wants to wake a sick child.

When a child is sick it needs to sleep. Sleep really is the best medicine. You will want to monitor the child’s temperature carefully, but you really won’t want to disturb it if possible. You will want to know if a fever is rising sharply while they sleep, and you will want to know if they need a medicine to bring the fever down. But what you really don’t want to do is wake them to take their temperature! Thankfully with STEADYTEMP® it is not necessary to wake a sleeping child to take its temperature. The sensor patch measures body temperature continuously and can be read using a smartphone – without waking the child. The non-invasive patch is worn under the arm and only takes seconds to scan. Recorded temperatures are then displayed graphically on your phone. You can set a temperature limit so that you see immediately if the child’s temperature has risen above that limit. You will also see fever spikes and can make decisions based on whether a fever is trending up or down.

An ear thermometer for an ear infection? No thank you!

One of the most common causes of fever in children is an ear infection. An ear infection can be viral or bacterial and is often a result of another infection such as a cold or flu. Symptoms include a high temperature, a lack of energy and pain or a feeling of pressure in the ear. Small children often rub or pull at their sore ear and not surprisingly they really don’t want to let you stick an infra-red ear thermometer into their ear to take their temperature. In fact, a sick child often flat out refuses to have its temperature taken either in the ear, under the arm or under the tongue. They are hot and bothered and simply don’t want to be poked at. The STEADYTEMP® patch can be worn for up to 7 days and can be scanned in seconds without disturbing a child.

Track all the details of an infection – know what happened when.

A sick child usually means a few sleepless nights for the parents. Worry and exhaustion make it difficult to remember when exactly you gave what medicine and what symptoms began when. But that is exactly the information you need if you have to take your child to a doctor or hospital. If your child is seriously ill those are the details that can save lives. STEADYTEMP® is not just a thermometer – it is also a symptom tracker. Create a user profile including personal information like allergies, chronic illnesses or other important medical information. This is your personal patient file.Then record all the details about your child’s infection. Did your child have symptoms like headache, nausea, or a head cold? Was it drowsy or refusing food? When did you give it medicine and what did you give? All the symptoms and information you add to the app can be seen in the time-line history. If and when a doctor needs this information, it can be downloaded and shared – in seconds. It’s all there on a timeline; symptoms, medicine, treatments and how the child’s fever reacted to medicine. Medicine is even visible on the temperature curve so that you can see how it affects the temperature curve. Having all this information can help a doctor make decisions quickly and start treatment faster – meaning your child’s recovery starts earlier.

Don’t just take temperature- track it! Download your free STEADYTEMP® app here).

Sources:

https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/fever-in-children