What did your childhood rectal thermometer case look like?

My doctor's office had the holders too, but they were chrome and glass. There was always the smell off alcohol in the room. No labels both holders held rectal thermometers.

I remember a B-D in a flat blue case that held the thermometer in place with little clips on it. There was a smaller clear plastic cover that covered the length of the thermometer. It was very modern looking.

We had a maroon plastic case with a bright metal cap that had a pocket clip. The case held two thermometers, a rectal and an oral one.

It was a BD asepto with a light blue case. The pear-shaped bulb was bigger than the stem. I still have it. It feels amazing.

Ours in a standard white plastic screw-top holder. It was kept on the same shelf in the medicine closet as the well used jar of Vaseline.

BB

Ours was in a black case with a stubby tip. It was kept in the medicine cabinet until it was time to be used. At the pediatrician's office there were 2 thermometers in each examining room, each one kept in a jar filled with alcohol. One had a red tip and one had a blue tip. Unfortunately, until you were 18, you always got the one with the red tip.

My Mother had a "Stubby/universal" thermometer that she used rectally on my sister and I up to age 6 or 7. It came in a white screw -off top pencil case. I can recall the sound it made , sort of a squeak sound as she removed the top and shook it down. Mom kept it on top of the jar of Vaseline on the top shelf of the medicine chest. It came out at the first sign of illness or cranky behavior, and was put to use- no questions asked.

My step mom had two. One was a clear plastic case with a hinged cover, I think it was a BD. The second was a black screw case with a generic thermometer. Loved them both

It was a white cylindrical case for a baby thermometer.

Regarding the container, I think the mercury one was in a kind of simili-leather sheath.

My parents used to do this to me a lot! Sometimes, my mother would say "Did you know what this says? It says you need an enema!" I never knew a thermometer could say that, LOL!

My,,, moms first one was clear with a blue screw on top. I broke it and had to hide it because she'd once caught, me playing with it at age 5 and told me next time, I'd get a quart enema. I was afraid of enemas then.

As a teen, I had several. Butt my favorite was a pink case Qtips baby thermometer. Mainly because I'd told my father that my doctors office asked for rectal temperatures. And I asked him to buy me one. I even added that I was supposed to keep a temperature diary over one summer. I pretended I couldn't do it alone so he often helped. I did finally get him to allow a friend to help me which I enjoyed more

I am pretty sure I have never had my temperature taken rectally. I do remember the oral thermometer with the clear plastic on it, I remember one time I got my temperature taken under my arm. But I never remember getting it taken rectally. Guess I missed out.

I'm 77 years young and I still have my childhood rectal thermometer. It came in a blue cardboard box with separate cover. I believe that the brand was Asepto. Inside the box was a cardboard insert that was flexible with two holes in it so that the thermometer was held protected in the box. The thermometer was a glass/mercury one. Always difficult to shake down. Still use it today just for enjoyment!

At home there was a black screw together case with a rectal thermometer and a white one with an oral one. Both thermometers had smooth ends to hold, not the flared "safety" type that were less likely to slip out of one's hand while shaking down. My mom switched to oral when I was 6 and started school.

The large pediatric clinic was more interesting. Each of the 10 exam rooms had a stand containing an oral and a rectal thermometer. Both had the flared ends, the oral clear and the rectal red. The nurses wiped the thermometers off with an alcohol soaked cotton ball before and after using them.

The rule was rectal temperatures until age 9 at the clinic. After cheating on oral (trying to not show a fever), they took mine rectally for a few years longer. I remember sitting on the exam counter (opposite the work counter with the thermometer stand) wondering which one the nurse would select. I often could not see directly at first because she was turned away from me cleaning and shaking the thermometer down, but I could see that the clear-ended oral thermometer was still in the stand.

We always had Rexall rectal thermometers. It came in a black case. If one broke, my mom bought another of the same kind. Temps were on my tummy, and vaseline was the favorite lubrication.

I can remember two as a child. One was a baby blue hinged plastic case and the other was a clear plastic two-piece container that had a pink removable piece as well. Both were rectal, as my mother didn't switch to the oral until I was well into my teens. At the pediatrician's office I recall the thermometers were always on the shelf in the room in glass tubes or bottles with alcohol in them.

There were two in our medicine cabinet. A black container with a screw top and then a beige container with a red top. The later contained a RT. When she had that in her hand there was no doubt what was to follow.

Our thermometer at home was in a black case it was a tube where the top of it screwed off to take the thermometer out, this was the one my Mom used the most, but we did have oral thermometer too that was kept in the bathroom medicine cabinet that one had a pink base that the thermometer snapped on to it and a clear plastic cover that snapped in place over it. 😃

That was so long ago, I don't remember. Now, if you want to know what the cases to my current collection of recital thermometers look like, I'll be glad to tell you. But that may be a topic for a different board. Y'all let me know.

There were a two; one had a white plastic case with a clear lid that showed the top 1/4 of the thermometer, and the other was the exactly the same only the case was pink with a clear top. The vintage glass one I that I have now is in a pink case with a clear top just like the one from my childhood, which is why I bought it.

Rockinrt said

We did have the original massive oval shaped glass jar of Vaseline that lasted from as early as I could remember until after I left for college, which always was kept on the shelf in the medicine chest directly under the thermometers.

I hate to have to tell you this, but the ORIGINAL GLASS vaseline jars were clearly ROUND.

Switchablesusie- I called it Vaseline in my post, for clarity's sake. It was an off-brand of petroleum jelly called Moraline, which did in fact, come in a large oval-shaped jar.

I think it was black/clear plastic case. Also screwed together to hold the two pieces and thermometer together. Must have been popular style in late 50s and early 60s.

It was in a peach colored, screw apart tube which was in a peach colored box.

My parents had two BD brand thermometers. The rectal one was in a black, pen-shaped plastic case that screwed together in the middle. The oral one was a similar white plastic case. My mom switched to oral when I was six and started first grade.

The more interesting arrangement was the thermometer holder in each of the 10 exam rooms at the pediatric clinic that I went to until college. Each room had a padded exam counter top along most of one side, and a kitchen counter-like top along the full length of the other side. The latter had a sink, and cupboards and drawers below. On the counter were jars of cotton balls and other supplies, and a glass stand with two thermometers - one rectal and one oral. I believe they were also BD brand. They looked just like the ones at home. The rectal one had a rounded bulb, and the opposite end flared a bit to be easier to hold without dropping and colored red. The oral one had the usual longer, thinner tip, and the opposite end was also flared, but not colored.

The rule at the pediatrician was rectal until age nine. After that I was soon caught cheating on oral, trying to not register a fever. They switched back to rectal for several years. During that time I wondered when it might be oral again. I often could not see which thermometer a nurse was holding at first as she prepared it, but I could see that the oral one was still in the stand. That meant orders to lie down on my stomach and pull down my jeans and my underpants in a few seconds.

It was two piece, bottom brown, top cream with a type of rope on it,,, later learned that that was supposed to be used to spin the mercury down, but was never used like that, would always hear the swishing in the air. Then feel the cold.

I remember ours quite clearly. It was an old original glass mercury thermometer with the red tip (the non-insertion end). The case was was half clear and half red.

Mine was digital except when the battery died it was an old glass rectal one in a red case with a clear top.

Mom had at least 2 B-D rectal thermometers in a slide out case. There was also a compartment for disposable probe covers.