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Post by auntiepeas on Feb 2, 2022 20:22:08 GMT
Update: Iāve commented with more detail further down the thread but the tldr is I spent NZ$2 (US$1.34, UK Ā£0.98) on a replacement battery and it seems to be working fine.  DH and I were boosted (all doses have been Pfizer) about midday on Monday. He briefly had the āpunched in the armā reaction whereas I also developed a high fever Tuesday with fatigue/weakness, heavy chest, body aches and a tender/sore armpit on the vaxed side. Anyway, after taking my temp it seems like the battery needs replaced on our Pharmacy-branded thermometer but I realised weāve probably had it at least 10 years, maybe longer, so wondered if weāre better off replacing it. What would you do?
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QueenoftheSloths
Drama Llama
Member Since January 2004, 2,698 forum posts PeaNut Number: 122614 PeaBoard Title: StuckOnPeas
Posts: 5,955 
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Post by QueenoftheSloths on Feb 2, 2022 20:30:50 GMT
I have never replaced mine. It seems to be accurate, so I don't think it needs to be thrown away, and it didn't come with an expiration date like smoke detectors and things do.
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Post by kitkath on Feb 2, 2022 20:33:13 GMT
Never. Ours is 29 years old.
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Post by lisae on Feb 2, 2022 20:37:53 GMT
I changed the battery in ours recently. It worked with a hearing aid battery I happen to have from my dad's stuff. I bought a 2nd thermometer just in case we both got sick or one was sick and the other monitoring. So now we have one old thermometer and one new one.
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melissa
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,912
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Post by melissa on Feb 2, 2022 21:05:11 GMT
For me, personally, maybe once every 15-16 years.
LOL. I had one that I was given by my oncologist's office during chemo. It's one of those cheapo ones. It died and I replaced it a few months ago. Otherwise, I did not keep a thermometer in the house. Shocking, right? When my daughter was growing up and even as a baby, I knew from her behavior if there was an issue. I did not need a thermometer to tell me.
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Post by maryland on Feb 2, 2022 21:22:29 GMT
I haven't had a thermometer in about 10 yrs. The ones we had never worked, so I just gave up.  |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Feb 2, 2022 22:23:40 GMT
I still have a glass mercury one. I also have a new digital.
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Post by ~summer~ on Feb 2, 2022 22:30:56 GMT
Never. Ours must be at least 15 years old. Iāve probably used it once in the last 5 years.
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peabay
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,676
Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on Feb 2, 2022 23:11:53 GMT
Never. Ours is 29 years old. Same. It works fine. |
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Feb 2, 2022 23:19:44 GMT
I still have a glass mercury one. That's all I have. And it rarely gets used. We go by the hand-on-the-forehead-yep-you-feel-feverish method. |
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Post by papersilly on Feb 2, 2022 23:23:45 GMT
i've never replaced mine but we switched instead to the kind you point to your forehead. the ones that got popular in the covid era.
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Post by Gem Girl on Feb 3, 2022 18:55:21 GMT
spongemom Scrappants said: We go by the hand-on-the-forehead-yep-you-feel-feverish method.Yep the ol' "organic thermometer." I don't recommend using this for candy-making though. (Grin)
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Post by tealpaperowl on Feb 3, 2022 18:59:15 GMT
Anytime one of us is sick, as soon as the illness is over we toss it and buy a new one.
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smartypants71
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,733
Location: Houston, TX
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Post by smartypants71 on Feb 3, 2022 19:13:56 GMT
I just replaced mine so that all 3 of us have our own. I couldn't trust that whoever used the family thermometer cleaned it when they were done.
Otherwise, I don't plan on replacing unless they break.
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Post by hmp on Feb 3, 2022 19:15:05 GMT
Never. Mine is 28 years old. Works like a charm. I hope I didnāt just jinx it!
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Post by voltagain on Feb 3, 2022 20:21:44 GMT
I've only replaced a digital type 2 times. The first replacement was when the oldest one needed a new battery but still wouldn't turn back on. Obviously it had to be replaced. Then after covid started I wanted a forehead scan one instead so I now have two. It was simply a change in technology that caused me to replace the older one. Its 15 years old and still gets the same measurement as the new one. But I like the forehead one better; it is faster to detect my temp and the screen is larger so I find it easier to read.
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Post by Crack-a-lackin on Feb 3, 2022 20:34:09 GMT
Theyāre like $10ā¦replace it. And you can use flexible spending dollars so itās a good use for that last bit of money in your account at the end of the year.
I have several of the cheap versions but I find the forehead scanner version so much easier and it feels more reliable.
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Post by cmpeter on Feb 3, 2022 23:16:59 GMT
Once, only because we lost the instructions and I couldn't remember how to use it. It was about 26 years old. It's REALLY rare that we need to take a temperature, even when the kids were little.
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Post by kckckc on Feb 4, 2022 0:34:10 GMT
I still have a glass mercury one. I also have a new digital. I also have a glass mercury one - Iāve had it since 1985 and I have no plans to replace it. |
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QueenoftheSloths
Drama Llama
Member Since January 2004, 2,698 forum posts PeaNut Number: 122614 PeaBoard Title: StuckOnPeas
Posts: 5,955
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Post by QueenoftheSloths on Feb 4, 2022 0:38:08 GMT
Theyāre like $10ā¦replace it. And you can use flexible spending dollars so itās a good use for that last bit of money in your account at the end of the year. I have several of the cheap versions but I find the forehead scanner version so much easier and it feels more reliable. Sometimes it's not about the money. I hate to throw away something that works just fine just because it is old. |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Feb 4, 2022 1:44:21 GMT
I've yet to find one that seems really reliable/consistent. I bought a forehead one several years ago and it would give such random temps. Same with our other ones. DS could take his under the arm and it would be 102 and then mine would be 95. What kind do you all have that are accurate?
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Post by auntiepeas on Feb 4, 2022 6:26:33 GMT
Thank you to everyone for your comments. I had tried a couple of google searches before starting the thread and was surprised not to be able to find any guidance at all on when to replace the whole thermometer, as opposed to the expected lifespan of the battery, so it was really helpful and interesting to hear what other peas do. Thereās just dh and I at home most of the time now, but even when the boys were young weāve only ever kept one thermometer in the first aid kit and just used alcohol swabs for cleaning/disinfecting between uses. However, I can definitely see the potential wisdom and peace-of-mind in having a separate thermometer for each person in the family, especially if someone could be infectious with Covid, so we may still end up buying a second one. I liked the sound of an infrared forehead thermometer, especially the non-contact/fast/easy-to-read features, but when I googled them I found a reasonably reputable NZ site which made me pause because it said āthey are not accurate as they measure the forehead skin temperature which changes a lot with blood flow and room temperatureā. In the end I still drove down to the pharmacy this afternoon to have a look at the St John Ambulance branded one they had but I couldnāt quite bring myself to part with the NZ$85 (US$56.72, UK Ā£41.72) - I was interested to see it actually said on the side of the box āPeriod of use: five yearsā. My next thought was to look at buying a new oral digital thermometer but, although they were only about NZ$15 (US$10.01, UK Ā£7.36), they didnāt seem to have any special new features. The one I looked at did say on the back the batteries should be replaced every 12 months, or when the display indicated low battery, and that it was recommended for use for up to three years, so that was interesting too. In the end though weāve been perfectly happy up until now with the one weāve already got, and some of you have had yours working well for decades longer, so I decided for now to buy a new battery at NZ$2 (US$1.34, UK Ā£0.98) and it seems to be working fine. Thanks again peas.š |
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milocat
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,465
Location: 55 degrees north in Alberta, Canada
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Post by milocat on Feb 4, 2022 14:12:06 GMT
I had one since my girls were babies, the older one is 20. When covid hit I checked the thermometer and it was dead, it was a clearish plastic and I could see the battery but couldn't get to it. So I bought a new one.
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Post by voltagain on Feb 4, 2022 14:26:09 GMT
I've yet to find one that seems really reliable/consistent. I bought a forehead one several years ago and it would give such random temps. Same with our other ones. DS could take his under the arm and it would be 102 and then mine would be 95. What kind do you all have that are accurate? Deferent temps between two people can just mean you have different temps. Kids tend to be warmer than adults from all of their commotion. My normal waking temp is 96.4 To check for a consistent reading or accuracy you need to take the temp of one person in the same conditions several days in a row. Or use a non human object to see if you get the same temp. |
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PLurker
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,754
Location: Behind the Cheddar Curtain
Jun 28, 2014 3:48:49 GMT
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Post by PLurker on Feb 4, 2022 14:28:33 GMT
I just bought a new one when the "forever" one kept reading my son's temp at 73/74. Lol
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Post by voltagain on Feb 4, 2022 14:35:48 GMT
Thank you to everyone for your comments. I had tried a couple of google searches before starting the thread and was surprised not to be able to find any guidance at all on when to replace the whole thermometer, as opposed to the expected lifespan of the battery, so it was really helpful and interesting to hear what other peas do. Thereās just dh and I at home most of the time now, but even when the boys were young weāve only ever kept one thermometer in the first aid kit and just used alcohol swabs for cleaning/disinfecting between uses. However, I can definitely see the potential wisdom and peace-of-mind in having a separate thermometer for each person in the family, especially if someone could be infectious with Covid, so we may still end up buying a second one. I liked the sound of an infrared forehead thermometer, especially the non-contact/fast/easy-to-read features, but when I googled them I found a reasonably reputable NZ site which made me pause because it said āthey are not accurate as they measure the forehead skin temperature which changes a lot with blood flow and room temperatureā. In the end I still drove down to the pharmacy this afternoon to have a look at the St John Ambulance branded one they had but I couldnāt quite bring myself to part with the NZ$85 (US$56.72, UK Ā£41.72) - I was interested to see it actually said on the side of the box āPeriod of use: five yearsā. My next thought was to look at buying a new oral digital thermometer but, although they were only about NZ$15 (US$10.01, UK Ā£7.36), they didnāt seem to have any special new features. The one I looked at did say on the back the batteries should be replaced every 12 months, or when the display indicated low battery, and that it was recommended for use for up to three years, so that was interesting too. In the end though weāve been perfectly happy up until now with the one weāve already got, and some of you have had yours working well for decades longer, so I decided for now to buy a new battery at NZ$2 (US$1.34, UK Ā£0.98) and it seems to be working fine. Thanks again peas.š If you need absolute accuracy an old fashioned glass/mercury thermometer to the rectum is the only truly consistent way to do it. Most people keep their homes heated/cooled to a fairly consistent temp and know to take a temp after being still for half an hour or so. My doctors office uses a forehead scanner to prevent germ transfer between patients. The one they use and the one I use get the same reading. Funny story, they got a new one. The nurse took my temp with it, looked at it, took it again, looked at it and said I think this is not working. I asked if it was saying my temp was 96.4. Yes it was. And that is MY normal temp. At 98.6 I am running a fever. No matter what thermometer you use it is helpful to know what your normal not sick temp should read as. |
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 7,456
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Post by sassyangel on Feb 4, 2022 15:37:09 GMT
I changed mine due to ease of technology with the thermometer forehead scan ones. So easy to use. I used to have a Kinsa mouth one I used to have to plug into my phone to see the reading, which isnāt always convenient. I didnāt throw it out, just kept it as a backup,
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Post by auntiepeas on Feb 4, 2022 17:10:29 GMT
If you need absolute accuracy an old fashioned glass/mercury thermometer to the rectum is the only truly consistent way to do it. I read this aloud to dh and for some inexplicable reason it gave him a flashback to that difficult patient in Carry on Nurse... The convenience of not having to sterilise it between patients does seem like it would be an appealing benefit and I was fully expecting to find a forehead thermometer was considered ābestā so I was surprised to find it isnāt (yet?) in NZ. We may still end up buying one at some point, just to be able try it out for ourselves (they do look cool!), but weād just have to remember that if weāre letting a health care provider or the authorities know our temperatures (ie, maybe for monitoring if it were a Covid case) then weāre best to use our oral digital thermometer. Good point! Thanks for the reminder. |
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