Would you say that a $5 digital thermometer would be accurate?

[Deja Q]

It has regularly displayed "97._" (97.2, 97.3, or 97.4) for my normal temp. That's okay, my mercury thermometer made in 1980 said the same thing.

I checked an hour ago, what with my nausea and migrane and all... 94.3. :wtf:

Checked again 10 minutes ago, 95.8.

Could it be wacky. Or am I wacked? :D

[soothsayer]

1. why don't you check it each time against your merc?

Sometimes fevers show up as low temps (they swing up and down)

[GOPFighter]

2. Oral or rectal?

:evilgrin:
...or armpit? They tell me orally is the least reliable of the three but I will not go rectal and I still don't trust the armpit.

My temperature varies all over the place also. The other night I felt feverish and nauseated, took my temperature and it was 100.1. I called the doctor and made an appt. An hour later I took it again and it was 98.8! I took it three times with the same result. When I went to the doctor the next day, the nurse took my temp. It was 98.0. She said, "Ah, that's normal."

I think we should throw out the thermometers and go back to the "Mommy" method (back of the hand against the forehead)!

[Orsino]

3. Did you check it against the exit polls?

It's not the temperature that counts...it's who reads the thermometer.

Verifiable temperature trails now!

[DrWeird]

4. Have you calibrated it?

w/ ice water?

Or is it uncalibratible?

[jmowreader]

5. Some thermometers for human use won't go that low

Since the human body's temperature ranges from 85 (recently deceased) to 106 (about to boil over), there's no need to make a digital thermometer that will measure the temp of ice water. Mercury thermometers don't.

I would calibrate against a mercury thermometer and call it good.