Glass thermometers and nuances of them ( rectal thermometers- glass, mercury)

Regarding glass mercury rectal thermometers, do you lean toward any nuances of the instrument?

They’re somewhat scarce these days and I think we’d be hard pressed to find them other than on an auction site, which can thin out your wallet if you bid on and win one.

With those still out there, possibly the one(s) you use, what is it that you most like about your thermometers?

Myself, I prefer the tear drop/ pear shape bulb, definitely want the word RECTAL on it, am actually tossed up on a round top or tri (no-roll) top. I prefer, despite what a box or packaging containing a blue topped one, marked as “rectal”; a red topped one, either round or tri. I’ve seen blue topped glass mercury thermometers in the bottoms of a few young women over the years. Also saw a thermometer with a blue tinted pear shaped bulb, in an exam room!

So, any experiences or thoughts?

I like the BD Red Flash Rectal because of the red color to the mercury column due to the red tint in the glass area over the mercury column. This makes it very easy to read. The BD Yellow Back Rectal is also very easy to read the mercury column. Both models have nice, rectal bulbs.

My childhood rectal thermometer was a B-D triangle type with a blue top, that said rectal on the side of it. It was in a white screw-top plastic case. It was stored in the medicine chest, above a huge glass oval-shaped jar of petroleum jelly.

I like the BD Asepto rectal thermometer it has a pear shaped bulb and I also like my BD Red Flash Rectal thermometer

I especially like how a dollop of surgical jelly magnifies the tip and the numbers of a glass thermometer with a refracting twinkle. The triangular ones have a very satisfying tactile feel when rolled in between the middle, index finger- and thumb. I have always been particularly fond of the transparent blue and red ended ones that I’m most familiar with. They are a contradictory object of hard and rigid, combined with soft and round that are gentle on the most sensitive and fragile of fleshy orifices. They are cool clear jewels that instantly warm without melting.

My stellar RN Mom took our temps from about the mid-‘50’s to early ‘70’s with mercury glass thermometers, rectal or oral depending on availability. I think all of hers had triangular cross sections. Other than mildly enjoying them from the cool glass sensation going in, I don’t have any nuances to report.

I just have one query: @Steven_D, which exact types or models of thermometers do you have in your avatar? It’s a bit too fuzzy for my aging vision. My mom used only 2 types, rectal with rounded or pear-like measurement end, the other perfectly straight.

Eric

Most of my rectal thermometers are made by B-D. Two of them are Red Flash, with plump, pear-shaped bulbs. One is a flat type, like a Taylor Binoc. Some people claim that they can actually feel the etchings as the thermometer is inserted. With me, it's all about being able to feel the bulb. I have two Trophy Evrmark thermometers, one of which is the very first rectal thermometer I ever owned. It looks like your typical rectal thermometer, with a slim shaft and pear-shaped bulb. The other one is thicker, with a shorter bulb. Then I have a few no-roll thermometers with blunt bulbs. One is marked oral, which was given to me when I had my wisdom teeth removed. I use it rectally now. The other one is marked as a rectal and while it has slight etchings, it feels buttery smooth as you insert it. You don't even have to lube it, it goes in so smoothly. It's slightly longer than most of my other thermometers. I also have two Taylor Binocs. but there is nothing special about them, in my opinion.

When I heard mercury thermometers would be no more, I bought quite a few rectal (and some interesting oral) thermometers on Ebay. Some of them have cases with the name of the drug stores they were purchased from in different parts of the country. I love that they require no batteries, have no moving parts and after all these years work perfectly and accurately.

But that got me thinking about all the different bottoms these have been in. To be a time-traveling fly-on-the-wall and watch these thermometers being lubed and inserted into bottoms all over the USA.

I have thought about the rectal thermometers I bought from eBay or at a yard sale. Wondering about who and what age all the bottoms that saw those thermometers before me were. I'm sure a good number saw babies or young kids, and maybe an adult or two. Most kids get switched to oral at about age 6, but not all.