1. 14.2 - Measuring and Recording Temperature
Unit 14
Measuring and Recording Temperature

2. What is temperature?
The balance between heat lost and heat produced by the body

3. Why might temperature vary?
Individual differences
Time of day
Parts of the body

4. Normal Range for Body Temperature
97 – 100° F or – 37.8° C
Normal reading and times by method
Oral
98.6°F or 37°C
3-5 min
Rectal
99.6° or 37.6°C
Axillary
97.6°F or 36.4°C
10 min

5. Most accurate method of measurement?
Rectal – because it is an internal measurement

6. Least accurate method of measurement?
Axillary or groin – because it is an external measurement

7. What is “aural” temperature?
Temperature recorded in ear or auditory canal
Measures thermal infrared energy radiating from tympanic membrane or eardrum

8. Hyperthermia or Hypothermia?
Hyperthermia is high body temperature above 104°F (40°C)
Hypothermia is low body temperature below 95°F (35°C)

9. Oral or Rectal clinical thermometer?
A rectal thermometer has a short, stubby rounded bulb and can have a red tip

10. How do you clean up and dispose of a broken clinical thermometer?
Put on gloves, use two cards to push droplets of mercury and glass into a plastic container with a tight fitting lid, wipe area with a damp sponge, put all cleanup material into plastic container, label “Mercury for recycling,” and take tightly sealed container to mercury recycling center

11. How do you prevent cross-contamination while using the probe of an electronic thermometer?
Place a disposable cover over the probe

12. How do plastic and paper thermometers register temperature?
Special chemical dots or strips change color when exposed to specific temperatures

13. What if the patient has eaten, smoked, or had something to drink shortly before taking a temperature?
These can all alter the temperature in the mouth

14. How long should a thermometer soak in disinfectant (after cleaning) before it is safe to rinse in cold water and use on a patient?
30 minutes

15. Use the thermometer below to answer question 17.