Are Rectal Temperatures Dying Out?

I think oral-ear temps have become standard, it is used to diagnose Appendixitis, though.

If you are already going to have that area exposed, lubricated, and probed, why not get a RT for greater accuracy? It is much smaller than a finger or an anoscope. I guess the reason some people balk is that it is associated with childhood.

New technology is the main culprit and the goal of new technology is to get an instantaneous accurate reading without being invasive. That goal has been reached with temporal artery thermometers. The real purpose is to make the nurse more efficient. Taking a child's temperature with a glass thermometer is very timeconsuming.

In the domestic environment time may be irrelevant and rectal temperatures can continue as usual should taking temperatures with glass thermometers be preferred. However, pressure to transition to electronic thermometers (from glass mercury fill thermometers) and a new generation of parents may also lead to the demise of the glass thermometer.

One advantage of using glass thermometers is that they have an indefinite shelf life and can be depended upon should a situation arise when an electronic thermometer is not functional. Keeping a supply of glass thermometers, both oral and rectal, at medical practices and institutions and at home would provide a means of taking temperatures should there be a prolonged disruption of medical equipment and supplies (such as with a devastating disaster).

Docshelper010,

You are absolutely right. This is all being driven by technology and that in turn is being driven by businesses and environmental extremists. A business had rather sell a tympanic or temporal artery thermometer for several hundred dollars (for the professional model) every couple of years, plus the costs of batteries, re-chargers, stands, disposal tips, etc, than to sell a 98 cent glass thermometer that will last 100 years unless you drop it. Then you have the environmentalists who want you to evacuate the building and call a hazmat team to deal with a broken mercury thermometer, when for a hundred years we calmly cleaned up (and sometimes as kids, played with) the mercury from broken thermometers without apparent ill effects. The issue of alleged nursing cost savings is also an interesting, although phoney, one. I recently saw a study that claimed the temporal artery thermometer saved "87% in nursing costs." First, keep in mind that nurses do not usually do temps. In most cases they are done by aides or students, the former who are poorly paid, and the latter who are not paid at all. Furthermore, while rectal temps with glass thermometers were somewhat time consuming, this is not the case with digital thermometers. How much time is saved by a temporal temp vs a rectal or oral digital temp? 15 sec? 30 sec? 45 sec? Finally, even this few second time saving does not translate to the cost of nursing care, because the nurse or aide is paid for the entire shift. It merely means that she can return to her coffee and magazine a few seconds sooner. (Now I mean no disrespect to nurses by that last comment. It is just the nature of hospital medicine that probably 50% of the time is spent waiting for something to happen, 10% answering the phone, 35% doing paperwork, and 5% in actual patient care.) So the temporal artery thermometer doesn't save any money, it just cuts down on time the aide or nurse has to spend with the patient. And I am not sure that is anything to recommend it.

I should have qualified my comments about using glass thermometers that my perspective was from a doctors office or clinic, many of which do not use nurses to take temperatures. My model for using glass thermometers would have specially trained staff members whose job it is to document the reason for the visit and history of the patients and take patients vital signs, including taking their temperatures. Some community based clinics tending to financially depressed patients would use volunteers to perform this activity. Typically in such clinics equipment such as medical devices, office equipment such as copy machines, furniture, examination tables, etc., are donated. Unfortunately, some hardware, including electronic probe and ear thermometers, are not in working condition and it would cost too much to repair them. For ear thermometers, sometimes there are so many inconsistent results that it is hard to tell if they are working correctly or not. On the other hand, the standard clinical glass thermometer has an excellent track record in providing consistent reliable results. With low or no paid staff taking temperatures, the labor costs are insignificant.

With the labor issue resolved, the main disadvantage to using a glass thermometers is that it is fragile. The staff member must be extremely careful in handling the thermometer and there must be a plan for containing mercury from broken thermometers. Although an oral temperature is taken by default, any patient not suitable for an oral temperature would be required to have a rectal temperature. This situation would apply almost exclusively to pediatric patients. The staff member must determine whether a youngster should be disqualified form having an oral temperature. Youngsters up to a certain age (for example age five or six) would be required to have a rectal temperature by default. Beyond the specified cutoff age, any low functioning youngster that the staff member that does not feel confident could maintain a thermometer in his mouth for at least three minutes without an unfortunate mishap would be rendered to have his temperature taken rectally. Although subjective, certain attributes can lead the staff member to arrive at that conclusion such as being scholarly challenged, emotional flaws, and immaturity. Taking such a youngster’s temperature rectally would bring a sense of relief knowing that the glass rectal thermometer is securely lodged in the youngsters rear end.

Also, to improve efficiency temperatures and vital signs would be taken at a station adjacent to the waiting room by a staff member that finds using a glass thermometer for taking temperatures very appealing. Such a confined area could accommodate taking both oral and rectal temperatures. While several oral temperatures could be taken at one time only one examination table could be taken at one rectal temperature to be taken at a time. No undressing would be required to take a rectal temperature, which would save time, as the only thing expected of the youngster would be to unloosen his trousers and lie face down on the examination table. At that point all that would be required of the youngster would be to remain passive while the staff member would pull his trousers and underwear down to his knees and begin the procedure of taking his temperature rectally with a glass rectal thermometer.

I wasn't going to chime in on this, but now I'm going to. Nero, you know not whereof you speak and you owe every nurse and healthcare professional on this forum an apology.

I speak from the veterinary medicine side of the coin, and yes, I know it's not the same. For the most part our jobs are not threatened by budget cuts and administrators that only know what the bottom line looks like. But we have our share of issues as well. Our patients may not have call lights, but their teeth are sharper and their tempers are shorter. And let's talk about having to clean them up before taking a temp., I have some horror stories!

What pains me the most is the owners that are ignorant and bullheaded and think they know best. I'm not some teenager that gave up a job at Mickey D's to come work for Dr. So and So. I have 8 years of education and I have to take continuing education every year to keep my license. I worked in the field for 12 years before I ever sat for my board certification. And no, I'm not a veterinarian, I am "just" the surgical technician that's going to help to save your dog's life because you thought you could neuter him with a rubber band or a piece of string (true story).

So before you go off on the medical profession, or any branch thereof, let me get my cup of hot, freshly brewed coffee, and this month's issue of Vanity Fair.

Putting my ruffled feathers back in place!

Play On!

LadyDoc

Ladydoc,

OK, I apologize if I offended you or anyone else, although I meant no disrespect to anyone in the medical profession (I might even be in that group myself!) I am guilty of both over-generalization and exaggeration. Certainly the hospital work demands vary with shift (day vs night), size and nature of hospital (small community vs large inner-city), and unit (surgical vs pedi vs OB, etc). My point was that much of medicine is "watchful waiting," of being available for the next crisis. If I say much of nursing time is spent drinking coffee or reading a magazine or doing paperwork, that is not to imply staff are lazy, or not doing their job. It is the nature of high-tech medicine today that more and more time is spent with machines and meetings and paperwork and less and less with the patients. My point is that if the temporal artery thermometer "saves" a nurse, aide, or student 15 or even 60 sec per patient, nothing is really saved because they are paid per shift. And do we really want to find ways of spending even less time with the patient?

Keep digging yourself in deeper, Nero. You have NO CLUE what's involved in hospital medicine.

Our hospital doesn't use temporal scanner thermometers or ear thermometers. We DO use electronic thermometers, not just because they're SLIGHTLY faster, but because they're durable, probe covers make passing germs between patients unlikely, and they're accurate. You definitely can't say that an ear thermometer is accurate (they're FAR from it), and the temporal scanner hasn't really proven itself either at this point.

Current OSHA regulations and Joint Commission guidelines about workplace safety and infection control make it difficult to justify using a glass mercury thermometer.. but you have to admit they're a lot more fun. 😁

Doc

Yes they are - I don't even see rectal thermometers for sale in the drug stores now.

No, these new thermometers, give a good idea, and can be very right, or very wrong. The closer to the core the correct the reading is.

I had to take my daughters temp, by rectal 2 times, as the ear gave a very low reading.

The first was just a sore throat, the ear showed 98.2. she kept saying she was hot, so I told that a recatal reading should be done. She complained, but let it be taken, it was 100.5.

The second time she had her Tonsiles removed. t the hospital right before she left the ear one showed 97.8, when we got home I took it rectally, and it was 100.3. Just 7 tenths off what the doc said we should take her back.

If you want a good old-fashioned mercury thermometer, get yourselves to a Tractor Supply store or other such place where they sell veterinary thermometers. I don't know why, but on large animals, we still do it the old-fashioned way. My partner and I recently picked up a package of two vet thermometers at my local TSC store for less than $5. We used them rectally during our most recent play session. Granted, they are just a tad larger than a human rectal thermometer (more fun), and they have a loop at the distal end for putting a length of twine on so you don't lose the darned thing. That might be a bit of overkill for human use, but you never know!

They are still available, you just have to know where to look! TSC can also be the source of some other fun toys that you might not have thought of before; much like a hardware store or kitchen supply house!

Play On!

LadyDoc

You can find here too ... scroll down the right side of the page ...

http://www.medicaltoys.com/essentials.htm

I have given a glance there, but that is not a true rectal thermometer.

The rectal thermometer tip ( where is located the mercury or other substance ) must be short and almost spherical, certainly not long and thin like shown in the pic.

This way I do think that what they sell it's a normal oral thermometer saying that it's rectal ...

M2000

After a long search I had found a true rectal therm made in china, but the better one that I have found more recently is a vintage one ( original made in Usa )on Ebay and this finally it's really perfect: simply fantastic ... 😃

M2000

Tractor Supply Co. often has glass thermometers, and they are sold in pairs for under $10.

They might be available online at tractorsupply.com.

A great bargain especially when glass thermometers are impossible to find in a drugstore environment anymore. Online prices on Ebay can be ridiculous as well. The only big difference (they are slightly longer) is the loop for the string so they wouldn't get lost in an animal. Enjoy them and stay 98.6!

When I was a kid in Europe, they were pretty much the norm in hospitals for both children and adults, and too in many families. I hear these days people tend to use tympanic thermometer, though some mothers prefer an electronic thermometer up the child's rear.

As long as there are people like us and web sites that cater to our enjoyment of items like rectal thermometers I believe they will retain their place in the fetish world. As far as what they do in the real world I guess that's up to what works best for a sick person or child. We are lucky people to be able to escape to this web site with similar minded folks and share some fun times. My wife loves her special rectal thermometer. It's an easy slip in hardened glass rectal thermometer with a custom non slip out device I thought of myself. It works great for photography! Other people may have something similar but I don't know? I'll have to post some photos of it and how it's used. It's great fun and as I said my wife really enjoys it and I see nothing in the future that will change that. It's not broken so I won't fix it.

gynylon28

I agree that the rectal temperatures are not dying out on the board, but in real exams, you are seeing them less and less because of the new high tech equipment that is supposed to be more accurate.

My that would be a terrible lost if rectal thermometers and their use were to disappear... after all they are the most accurate

Last year I has two rectal temperatures taken while I was in the hospital. Most of the time it was taken with a digital ear thermometer.

Last month while in the hospital, my nurse came in one night around midnight to get my vital, which included having my temperature taken. She had a digital therometer which was used for that purpose. After she had taken it, I asked in a joling manner it that was used any time for rectal temps. She looked at me with a smirk on her face, making no coment. She completed the vital then left the room saying she would be back in a few minutes.

The few minutes passed and she did return, going over to the lavatory area. I didn't know what she was doing at the time so laid back to go back to sleep. I then her tell me to roll over, then I felt the probe entering my anus. She held the probe in place till the unit beeped let her know my temp was taken, then she withdrew the probe.

She discarded the outer cover on the probe and then turned to me asking me if I got the answer to my question. (By the way, there were only a few patients on the floor that night so she did have the time to do the rectal temp taking.)

I think it's definitely dying out. The last time I had it done was when I was six or seven (mid-1970's). I have three kids now, and they have never had their temp taken that way.

When i was young all children had there temp taken rectaly from the new borns all the way up too twelve year olds childrens wards in hospital were all mixed you had to lie on your left side for the older children and the well lubed themometer was slid in to the boys or girls bottom older children were told to hold it in place themselves younger kids had there s held in place by nurse small children were on there backs with legs in the air prone and thermometer held in place at first it was realy embarasing but after seeing other boys and girls bottoms with thermometers stiking out you got used to it

In some countries in Europe, temps are taken in the armpits.. for example in Italy.

It is unfortuante that such a traditional method is no longer utilized.

I think a subs temperature should always be taken rectally but in the day to day world I think it is a lost form. But I dont care if it is dying out or not, my subs will ALWAYS have their temperature checked rectally with an old fashioned glass mercury thermometer. I dont think my thermometer is in their bottom long enough to ever cause them any kind of a health issue.

Recent ads on TV and the radio for forehead thermometers are leading to the demise of the rectal temps

For many of us, we were introduced to them in our doctors' office or during a hospital stay..Kids these days (for the most part...) will not have that exposure so...maybe it will completely die away...maybe they'll develop a fetish...maybe they'll discover forums like this...maybe a partner will introduce them to RT's...Styles come 'n go as do a new generations of fetish fans.

They are not really dying out. For certain exams a rectal measurement is still necessary, e.g. in case of appendix trouble. Always when an exact value is needed a rectal temp measurement is done. But of course in real life everybody tries to avoid this and oral, axiliar or measurement in the ear are prefered since they are faster.