For Kids Only

Did you know you always have a tempera- ture? Bet you thought you only had a tem- perature when you were sick. Absolutely everything has a temperature, even icicles.

Brrrrrr!

When you don't feel well, your mom or a nurse might say "let's see if you have a

temperature," but what they really mean is "let’s see if your temperature is different from normal."

So, when you have your temperature taken, don't be fooled. Your mom and your doctor already know you have a temperature, and are just getting an idea of how things are going inside your body.

Places to measure your temperature.

Your bum. Babies and little kids get their temperature taken is in their bum. Poor little kids, how embarrass- ing! The temperature taken

in your bum is the hottest of all the places to take temper- ature. It’s around 99.6°F most of the time.

Your armpit. When kids get a lit- tle bit older, they might have their temp taken under the arm instead of the bum. This is better, but you have to keep the thermometer in your armpit with your arm tight against your chest for a long time. It’s hard to keep it from falling out and breaking, especially if you fly!

I wonder if flying causes the armpit temperature to be the lowest in your body. It’s around 97.6°F most of the time.

Your mouth. Now, if you’re reading this, you’re probably a big kid and so you would most

likely have your temperature taken in your mouth. Not too bad, but everyone knows you can trick your mom or your doc- tor into thinking you’re sick by doing stuff with that thermome- ter. Bet you already know of ways to do that! Most of the

time, a temperature in your mouth is about 98.6°F. Well

sort of...

Your ears. Now we’re down to ears. And please pardon us, ears beat

rears. But, having your ear pulled sure isn’t fun, and when you have an ear infection, it even hurts. Temperature taken in your ear should be higher than in your

mouth, but not as high as in your rear.

Your heart. If we were to pick the best place to measure temperature it would be in the center of your heart. But

that’s pretty dangerous, and surely not be something you would think was fun. Arrrrghhh! In case you’d like to know, though, temperature in your heart is around 99.4°F.

Your temporal arteries.

There is a special place on your head where we can measure the same tempera- ture as the blood in the mid- dle of your heart. This is because blood is pumped directly from your heart to your head through little tubes called arteries that carry blood up the sides of your

neck, up the side of your face just under your skin, and stop at at a place on your forehead called your temple. Guess what they’re called?

Wow! Isn’t this the same place your mom touches with her hand when you don't feel good?

Did you know that the forehead has been used to detect fevers as far back in time that anyone can remember, over 2000 years? There’s a new technology that scans the same place your mom touches, and it’s almost as gentle. It's an infrared thermometer called the TemporalScanner. It measures your temperature with a quick and gentle scan across your forehead. Most of the time, temperature here is around 99.4°F, same as your heart. Nothing goes in your mouth, your ear, or your rear, and in just a second or two, done!

Now, where is the best place to take your temperature?