Difference between oral and rectal thermometers

When I lived in the US 15-20 years ago, I noticed that drugstores carried oral and rectal glass thermometers; the former had something blue and the latter something red to differentiate them. But, apart from that, they seemed identical. They all looked like this:

http://www.tradeindia.com/fp1517702/Geratherm-Mercury-Free-Thermometer.html

That's also how all glass medical thermometers I had seen looked like, including the mercury one and the mercury-free one we had at home in France, same also at the hospital. I once read the instruction leaflet from one that we had at home and it said it could be used for rectal, oral and axillary.

So I wondered about this difference between oral and rectal in the US, which seemed to be only about color and whether the item was sold in the children section. Maybe this was an inheritance from days gone by, where both items were really different? Or just a color code to avoid putting in the mouth what had been in a rear end?

I read somewhere that back in the days of mercury thermometers, rectal thermometers had a bulb of different shape, stubbier than oral ones. Is this the case? Would someone have photographs of that?

The difference is the taste

I still have both types. The oral has a long thin hotdog shaped mercury chamber and the rectal has a spherical mercury chamber. My understanding was that the oral was shaped to speed the reading wait and the rectal was optimized for breakage protection. Not sure about the taste.

At one time, the rectal thermometers in the U.S. and Canada, were thick, with either a pear-shaped bulb, or a short stubby one. Oral thermometers were very thin, with a long and slender bulb. The oral thermometers were probably more fragile and hazardous than people realized. During the 70's and beyond, the rectal thermometers were thinner, with barely noticeable bulbs, and before being completely phased out, they looked exactly like the oral style. I've always wondered if the changes were do to technology, manufacturing costs, or politically motivated. By coincidence, the drastic design changes occurred during the start of the "politically correct era." That was also the era when the healthcare community frowned upon parents taking their kids temps rectally. (And the Clintons were in the White House). Something to think about.

Good one Course! Reminds me of the joke about the doctor who had a rectal thermometer behind his ear. When asked about it he responded with "Damn some assholes got my pencil " Not very funny, sorry.

Liquid, I personally thought your version was funny as well as the version I heard about the nurse at the bank, and well the punch line is the same, lol. But you know we nurses and doctors are an odd bunch, we often find humor where others usually don't.

Mashie

JJM: Would you have any photographs of that?

I have no photos of thermometers, but if you look in the gallery section here, and on ebay, you'll find pics of the exact same thing.

Mashie, a copy of Liquidskis Comment needs to go in the Joke section like the Things You Dont Want to Hear in Surgery! Amazing Comedy and Humor.

Daniel I'm sorry but all the thermometers I see in galleries here seem to look like the one I pointed to (rather thin tip, no "bulb"), which is like the ones we used at home.

I came across a old glass and mercury thermometer I’ve had for ages, though it likely came from Walmart. It has a red tip and a “hot dog” shaped business end. Could it be a rectal thermometer? My impression was rectal thermometers had a bulbous tip ( and oral thermometers had blue tips.) It is marked with, 3-98 MEDI-AID ASTME 667 China [F]

The difference of the thermometer never bothers me as long as I get my temperature taken rectally. 😃