| Subject: Re: STILL DOING RECTAL TEMPS AFTER ALL THESE YEARS |
Author:
Phillip
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Date Posted: Wednesday, October 05, 2016, 07:32: am
In reply to:
longtermresearcher
's message, "STILL DOING RECTAL TEMPS AFTER ALL THESE YEARS" on Thursday, March 10, 2016, 08:40: pm
At a time when the mercury-fill, glass thermometer was used exclusively to take a temperature (for sure through the late 1950's), the primary purpose of taking a rectal temperature using a glass rectal thermometer was to insure an absolutely successful conclusion and that accuracy had a secondary importance. Clearly, the main concern had been youngsters who had not reached the intellectual and/or emotional immaturity to keep a glass oral thermometer intact while placed in the mouth. Across the board, a youngster below the age of six years old was considered at risk of having a mishap while a glass oral thermometer placed in the mouth and therefore would be required to have a temperature taken rectally with a glass rectal thermometer. However, a youth clinic could have even a higher standard which could extend that age in which a youngster could have a temperature taken rectally with a glass rectal thermometer.
In this day and age with an ever increasing portion of grade school age youngsters who would be at risk of having a mishap with a glass oral thermometer placed in the mouth (ADD, ADHD,etc.), the functionality of a youngster and not age would be a factor to be considered as to whether a youngster over the age of five years old should have a temperature taken rectally with a glass rectal thermometer. Because the vast majority of these youngsters tend to be grade school age boys (that is, through the age of ten years old) it follows that most of the youngsters having a temperature taken rectally with a glass rectal thermometer would be boys.
Of course, the electronic thermometer has largely replaced the glass thermometer with the exceptions being in remote areas of the country where there is a lower standard of living (places that can be found if someone looks hard enough). So, it can be said that that there is no reason for taking a rectal temperature these days where electronic thermometers have replaced glass thermometers. However, where the glass thermometer is still used, the portion of youngsters (particularly boys) being required to have a temperature taken rectally with a glass rectal thermometer would increase significantly. It could be that may be the main reason the medical establishment pushed for the elimination the sale of mercury-fill glass thermometers through government intervention in the early 2000's thus forcing the public to purchase electronic thermometers which had been around for about a generation. After all, why did this push to elimination of the glass thermometer, due to the mercury content being escaping from broken glass thermometers when this problem was common knowledge for a very long time? Did these public health warriers just come to wake up to the problem?
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