Vital Signs  INFORMATION ABOUT THE BASIC BODY CONDITIONS OF PATIENTS

HAVE YOU EVER HAD YOUR TEMPERATURE TAKEN  WHY?

BODY TEMPERATURE  DEFINE  NORMAL RANGE

BODY TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT OF THE BALANCE BETWEEN HEAT LOSS AND HEAT PRODUCED IN THE BODY

Temperature Normal Ranges  Oral F (36.5 – 37.5C)  Rectal and Temporal F ( C)  Axillary F (36-37C)  Aural This provides a measurement of body core temperature so there is no normal range.

BODY TEMPERATURE  FACTORS THAT CHANGE BODY TEMPERATURE  DEFINE HYPERTHERMIA, HYPOTHERMIA AND FEVER  INDENTY 5 SITES TO CHECK TEMPERATURES

FACTORS THAT CHANGE BODY TEMPERATURE  ILLNESS AND INFECTION  EXERCISE AND/OR EXCITEMENT  HIGH/LOW TEMPERATURES IN THE ENVIRONMENT

HOW IS HEAT LOST?  PERSPIRATION  RESPIRATION  EXCRETION

HOW IS HEAT PRODUCED  METABOLISM OF FOOD

FEVER  TEMPERATURE ABOVE 100.4

HYPERTHERMIA  TEMPERATURE ABOVE 104 –DEATH AND CONVULSIONS TEMPERATURE ABOVE 106

HYPERTHERMIA  PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO HOT TEMPERATURES  BRAIN DAMAGE  SERIOUS INFECTION

HYPOTHERMIA  TEMPERATURE BELOW 95 –DEATH TEMPERATURE BELOW 93

HYPOTHERMIA  STARVATION OR FASTING  DECREASE IN MUSCLE ACTIVITY  COLD TEMPERATURES IN THE ENVIRONMENT

Five Sites to Measure Temperature  Oral  Axillary/Groin  Temporal  Aural  Rectal

Types of Thermometers Clinical (oral, axillary and rectal) Electronic (oral, axillary, and rectal) Tympanic- aural Temporal Scanning- temporal

Clinical Thermometer  A clinical thermometer is a glass thermometer  They can be filled with mercury or alcohol with red dye  The component expands when exposed to heat  To avoid Mercury poisioning OSHA recommends alcohol or digital thermometers

Reading a Clinical Thermometer  Hold the thermometer at eye level  Rotate it slowly to find the solid column of mercury or alcohol  The thermometer is read at the point where the line ends

Reading a Clinical Thermometer  Each long line is read as 1 degree  Each short line represents 2/10 of a degree.2  Temperature is always recorded to the nearest 2/10 of a degree

Reading Thermometers  Electronic, tympanic and temporal thermometers are easy to read because they have digital displays.

Documenting Temperature  98 is an oral reading  99 (R) is a rectal reading  97 (Ax) is an axillary reading  100 (A) is an aural reading  101 (T) is a temporal reading

Conversion  Converting Fahrenheit to Celsius  C= (F-32)x5/9 or  Converting Celsius to Fahrenheit  F=(Cx9/5 or 1.8)+32