Parents Good Judges of When Child Has a Fever; But Glass Mercury Thermometer Best for Measuring Child's Fever

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 28,1996-- In most households, parents can tell when their child has a fever by the age-old method of feeling the child's head. And, according to a study in the September Annals of Emergency Medicine, a parent's judgment of the severity of the fever is just as reliable as expensive over-the-counter thermometers used in the ear. However, the most reliable and accurate way to measure a child's temperature - especially for children two years and younger -- is with the old stand-by - a glass mercury thermometer used rectally or orally.

"Parents are good at knowing if their child is really sick," says Edmond Hooker, MD, the study's main author. Fevers are one of the primary symptoms that prompt parents to bring their children to emergency departments.

Dr. Hooker and his colleagues in the Department of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Louisville School of Medicine decided to check if parents were accurate in detecting fever. Parents of 180 children age 4 and under who were admitted to the emergency department were asked if their child had a fever. Then, each child's temperature was taken with both a thermometer placed next to the child's ear (a noncontact tympanic thermometer -- NCT) and a rectal thermometer.

Parents were able to correctly tell that their child was feverish nearly 80 percent of the time, and in fact, were more accurate than the NCT.

"Trust your common sense -- if your child seems okay and is only mildly warm, give them the proper amount of a non-aspirin analgesic," says Dr. Hooker. "But if your child is running a temperature with other symptoms, particularly those children under two, take their temperature using a regular glass mercury thermometer. You and the physician need to know what the temperature is for further treatment."

Annals of Emergency Medicine is the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians, a national medical specialty society representing nearly 19,000 physicians who specialize in emergency medicine. The College is committed to improving the quality of emergency care through continuing education, research, and public education.

CONTACT: Jane Howell of the American College of Emergency Physicians, 800-320-0610, ext. 3008, or email, jhowell@acep.org

Other releases dated 9/3/96 from American College of Emergency Physicians

• Emergency Departments Important Line of Defense in Immunizing Hard-to-Reach Children
  
  
• Inhaling Helium Can Cause More Than a Funny Voice