Rectal temperatures | Removing the thermometer mid …

Views: 1386 Created: 2013.08.15

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First post

Mother always had to look at the thermometer halfway through, to read it. She pulled it out, lifted up her glasses, looked at it closely, and reinserted it. Once, when I was older and no longer laying across her lap, I was on my side with my bottom against the back of the sofa. Mom said, "I need to look at the thermometer, do you want me to pull it out or leave it in your bottom ?" She ended up pulling it halfway out and looking at it while it was still in my bottom. I still remember her leaning all the way over to do it, her face right next to my bottom.

biene

I also remember my mother having a look at the thermometer after half of the measurement time. However, she did not pull it out totally, but only halfway.

JJM

Since a rectal temp. is only supposed to last no more than 5 minutes, at least according to the instructions, why wouldn't you just wait until it's ready to take out ? It would seem that reading it half-way through the process would be kind of useless, if you wanted to get a true reading. Wouldn't you have to start completely over again, or would the mercury column continue to rise to the correct level ? I guess you could try an experiment, to see how well it works. It would definitely be more fun than a high school science project !

mrtemp

It never happened to me either. Once the thermometer was inserted I had to keep be still lying for full five minutes and wait for it to register...

Kenw

Nope left in the full 3 to 5 minutes.

docshelper010

The use of the standard four inch glass rectal thermometer ordinarily takes three minutes to register. However, after reading the thermometer and noting the temperature, mounting it again and leaving it in a couple of more minutes insures the validity of the three minute reading,