Why are rectal temperatures seen as taboo or lost art these days

These days digital sensors are far more accurate and there is little contact with the patient. Rectal temperature taking is just for those with that fantasy. Nothing to do with reality !!

I think it is probably a combination of the extra time and hassle it would take, the sexual aspect and the legal aspect. I can see many people complaining about it which could lead to sexual assault allegations or lawsuits.

Rectal temperatures, once considered the gold standard for accuracy, have become less common due to advancements in less invasive methods like oral, tympanic (ear), and infrared forehead thermometers. Societal discomfort and cultural taboos surrounding rectal procedures contribute to its decline, as it involves personal boundaries and physical exposure. From a medical perspective, rectal temperature measurement is still highly accurate, especially for infants, elderly, or critically ill patients. However, modern thermometers offer sufficient accuracy with greater convenience, hygiene, and patient acceptance. The shift reflects changes in technology, healthcare practices, and societal norms. Despite its diminished use, the rectal method remains a vital tool in specific clinical scenarios, highlighting its enduring relevance despite reduced popularity.

Rectal temps are neither taboo nor a 'lost art'. It is a medical procedure that is still reccomended for infants and small children or other patients who might have a tendency to damage a thermometer by biting or other means. Other locations/methods are just much less intrusive, just as informative, and quicker. Guidelines for rectal temps call for about a minute of insertion time, whereas using infrared takes just a few seconds. An additional consideration is how the medic views the method - just as some folks prefer rectal readings, many of those responsible for them prefer not to.

Accuracy of a patient's temperature reading is not a critical concern for relatively healthy patients. Even after invasive surgeries temperature is checked for spikes/drops that could indicate a developing infection or other problem rather than a solid indication/diagnosis of a problem.

I was in the emergency room with a high fever in June, during the triage I had both a rectal swab taken, and a rectal temp, so they are still alive, this in Canada.

@candoc ,

Was there a reason given to you why your temperature was to be taken rectally? A swab? During Covid I heard that may well have been done in China ( swab via the rectum).

I am pretty sure if needed or ordered a RT can be taken for medical conditions. But with today’s technology in medicine and I’m guessing, if a temperature is part of the admission routine it won’t be rectal.

The swab I think was to check for C Dificile I think it is called, as to the rectal temp, she told me she was going to do it without explaining why, but with a high fever I was so out of it that I really didn't care. Couldn't have even thought about enjoying the situation even if I wanted to lol

A high fever; yes that may have necessitated the rectal route.. Did you get another route: oral, ear or scan first , or did you present and tell them what your temperature was and you had a high fever?

I was an ER nurse in the mid 80s. I would say from birth to age 4 we took rectal temps. Older kids had oral temps. Occasionally we would get patients that came in with hypothermia and the only correct temperature was taken rectally. If someone came in with severe vomiting and couldn’t hold a thermometer in their mouth then we get a rectal temp. Even today I feel like anything that has to do with rectal/anal is still taboo to some but for me it’s very pleasurable

I think that it is probably because they have ear and forehead thermometers today. Hospitals, in fact, use temporal scans for temp taking 95 percent of the time. As time goes on many will not have had any experience giving or taking.

A rectal thermometer is unpleasant for the patient. It also takes more time. Other methods are reasonable accurate. Does it really matter if the patient temperature is 101.3 or 101.4?

Growing up in the 80s, getting sick always meant a visit to the family doctor—or, more often, being cared for at home by a parent armed with a thermometer and plenty of patience. Back then, taking a temperature was a more involved process, especially for younger kids. My most vivid memory of this was when I was about eight years old and had come down with a fever.

I was lying on the living room couch, bundled in blankets, while my mom came over with the glass thermometer she kept in the bathroom cabinet. She didn’t even ask; she simply told me to roll over. That’s just how it was back then—rectal temperatures were standard for kids, especially if accuracy mattered. She’d coat the end with a bit of petroleum jelly, and I’d squirm and complain, but there wasn’t much choice.

I remember the awkward feeling of it, the coolness of the thermometer, and the endless seconds ticking by. Mom would hold it in place while humming or chatting to distract me, and I’d bury my face in a pillow, wishing it would be over. When it finally was, she’d carefully read the tiny lines on the thermometer and nod knowingly, declaring whether I needed to stay home from school another day.

Looking back, it wasn’t seen as strange or unusual. It was just what parents did. Rectal thermometers were considered the most accurate, and parents relied on them without much thought. It wasn’t until years later that I realized how different things had become with digital technology and changing attitudes. For me, though, that experience is a snapshot of childhood in the 80s: a mix of care, patience, and a little bit of embarrassment that seems quaint by today’s standards.

Your words are very true. I posted on here on a number of occasions that when I was a kid in the 60s and early 70s that pretty much everybody use the same doctor in the town I came from we all got rectal temperatures and nobody even thought about it in fact, even when we played doctor and we could get a thermometer, we never even imagine taking an oral temperature.