Are rectal temperatures still being measured in actual clinical settings?

Has anyone heard of Rectal Temps being taken during the virus?

Has anyone heard of Rectal Temps being taken during the virus?

I haven't heard of rectal temps being used to screen for COVID-19 - but I've heard that anal swabs have been used to test for it, even recently in the news.

Are rectal temperatures still being measured in actual clinical settings? I’ve personally found the answer to be a definite YES.

The tools of medicine may have changed in this digital age, but how they are administered are often still tried and true.

At a recent afternoon visit to urgent care, judging by the bright multicolored walls and cartoonish art, I was put in a pediatric exam room. As I was waiting for a PA to eventually come in, my boredom and curiosity led me to peek into the waste receptacle. As I suspected, it’s contents consisted of a few tossed diapers, along with telltale torn surgical lube packets, wadded tissues, gloves, and quite a number of spent thermometer probe covers.

On another clinic visit, I actually asked if rectal temps were still taken? After a little light humor about it, my nurse said, “It happens a little more often than one would think now days.” She told me it was most often done on ER trauma patients, and if an infant or toddler indicates a high temp, it will be rechecked rectally.

RTs have not gone by the wayside quite as much as most think, just the mercury thermometer has. Accuracy is still sought and required in a professional medical environment. Some of the good old fashioned methods continue on.

I’m almost certain that any future RT fetishists will be even fewer and farther between, simply due to the fact that it happens to kids less, and when it does happen, very little time is spent having to actually remain still while thinking about it. 🎵BeeeeP!

My response is only a guess on this. I would think that rectal temperatures are taken in clinical settings when indicated due to any number of circumstance.

I get mine still checked at home from my mom because of the virus and my doctor will accept a rectal temperature reading even though they don't do it at the office..

We did, at our house! No lie!!!

My wife checked her's rectally a couple of times after being concerned about possible exposure.

I think mostly they just use those digital thermometer guns and point at your forehead .

Never seen or heard about such measurements, probably very unlikely. Of course I never had myself it done in clinical setting, only at home. Would love to experience, but would be very very highly unlikely. Ah well, enema or suppository will do.

I just finished talking to a 26 year-old (nurse) friend who has a 3 year-old son who gets his temp taken rectally. She said he never seems to mind because that’s all he’s ever known, and said she sees no reason to do it any differently in the immediate future. She also stated that many of her young mother friends do the same.

She said digital thermometers are now so quick, that kids don’t really realize what happened anyway.

Here in UK my wife was given a digital rectal thermometer to monitor her temp while undergoing chemo.

@arttemp wrote:

She said digital thermometers are now so quick, that kids don’t really realize what happened anyway.

For sure, it’s better that electronic technology allows for a more rapid reading. But I admit I’m a bit nostalgic for the intimacy that comes with having to have the thermometer held in place for 5 minutes.

At my first physical exam when the doctors office reopened mine was taken rectally and both male nurse doctor and myself was in ppe gear and full shield face masks.

Yes for sure. Only way it is taken

I would think, it’s much more rare nowadays.

My mom does because of virus because it's more accurate

I think they should make them mandatory

I've only seen the forehead scanners, or oral digital thermometers in medical offices/hospitals. I always use the gold standard, vintage rectal thermometer, on a daily basis, and in my mind, you won't get a more accurate reading. I never discuss it publicly. People would look at me like I had two heads, and they would give me plenty of space, I'm sure. Unless, of course, I happen to run into someone who can think outside the box. Not common these days.

There is no need for the accuracy of a RT over an oral or scan 99% of the time. Basically, as an adult, it's pretty obvious if you have a fever or not and oral or temporal is adequate. Susie's mom used the back of her hand on the kids forehead - and she claimed it was calibrated and just as good or better than a thermometer . I suppose she could have got a “more accurate” reading by sticking a finger up their butts - but that wasn't necessary. While a RT might be more fun for many, the accuracy angle is way overstated.

I seriously doubt they are use in clinical settings except for infants. There is no need for the accuracy of a RT over an oral or scan 99% of the time. Basically, as an adult, it's pretty obvious if you have a fever or not and oral or temporal is adequate. Susie's mom used the back of her hand on the kids forehead - and she claimed it was calibrated and just as good or better than a thermometer . I suppose she could have got a “more accurate” reading by sticking a finger up their butts - but that wasn't necessary. While a RT might be more fun for many, the accuracy angle is way overstated.

When I had Covid, going through the triage at the hospital, the nurse grabbed a thermometer probe set up and said “oops, that one’s rectal, I don’t think you want that!” I was a bit shocked that they even had one because they just zap your forehead almost everywhere now. I was too sick to inquire about it, though.

I've always taken or had mine taken rectally. Now for me, it's once in the morning and once before bed.

A person's temperature is just one piece in the jigsaw puzzle of their overall health. This, and other pieces such as weight, color of urine, consistency of feces, etc. change constantly. 98.6 is an average of millions of readings done on millions of patients. Many were higher, many were lower. There is no need for accuracy or precision that might be obtained by checking temperature rectally compared to orally or by IR scan.

Before scanning thermometers, there was occasional medical need to check temp rectally - small children who could not hold a thermometer under their tongue, patients with nervous disorders who could not control motor functions such as biting, or mental/emotional problems that might cause a patient to react violently to a small cylinder placed in their mouth, etc. But with the advent of IR scanning thermometers, there is no need for oral or rectal thermometers.

But with the advent of IR scanning thermometers, there is no need for oral or rectal thermometers.

Except in cases of hypothermia or heat stroke where they need a “core“ temperature, in which case rectal will still be used. So I’m told, anyway. Trust me this thought was in the back of my head when I almost passed out in the heat. Having your co-workers around when they yank your drawers down is not a desirable experience.