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American Morning

Paging Dr. Gupta: Look at Different Thermometers

Aired August 12, 2003 - 08:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: In today's "Paging Dr. Gupta," taking your temperature used to be as easy as slipping a thermometer under your tongue and getting the measurement moments later. But now, that classic mercury thermometer is increasingly being banned, but there are some interesting alternatives. Some may not be that effective.
So we bring Sanjay Gupta in from Atlanta to tell us more about that.

Sanjay, good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, yes.

If you call the doctor and tell them that you're sick, they're probably going to ask you did you take your temperature or do you have a fever? So for a long time people relied on these mercury thermometers, you know the old standby, but lately, they've been getting sort of a bad rap, not just because they're hard to read here, but potentially because they have risks as well.

Mercury itself is a known toxic chemical there. Exposure to it, and we're taking about the kind of exposure from just inhaling small amounts of the mercury can cause dizziness, slurred speech and brain damage.

Now obviously, these are rare problems, and many people are saying, yes, they're rare, but why take the chance at all. So much so they are no longer carried by 90 percent of pharmacy chains , and they're banned in 11 states.

So a lot of people are looking to alternatives to try and figure out whether or not there's other effect of ways to take your temperature.

One way, for example is this digital thermometer. There are pros and cons to a digital thermometer. There are pros. It is actually very easy to use. It's ergonomically correct. You can use it in your mouth. You can use it underneath your arm. You can also use it rectally. It takes about 60 seconds, however, for the temperature to actually come back. So that's a little bit of a long time, especially with a squirmy child.

There's also the infrared thermometer. It's actually you put this in your child's ear and this will work pretty well. It takes about a second for the temperature to come back.

One of the downsides of something like this, though, however, it's pretty expensive, about 50 bucks for this thing.

And then, finally, really a sort of neat thermometer. This is rather new. It's killed a forehead thermometer. A forehead thermometer also expense about $50. And you put it in the room for about 20 to 25 minutes. You just put it on your forehead, but you have to put it in the room 20 to 25 minutes ahead of time, for it to acclimate to the room temperature, but then it takes you a temperature in about five seconds.

The last two are kind of pricey. The digital thermometer, probably your best bet overall. It's pretty cheap. It's pretty effective as well. But for a squirmy child probably not your best bet. Mercury, a bit of a problem, Daryn. People are becoming more and more aware of that. You're going to start seeing some campaigns warning about the dangers of mercury as well -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Speaking of forehead thermometers, most moms have one. It's called the hand, or the back of their hand. Why do you need one of these fancy thermometers? Why is it so important to know either your temperature or your child's temperature within a couple of degrees?

GUPTA: Well, two questions there. Well, first of all it's very hard, actually, to take someone's temperature the way you were taking Bill's earlier. One is that you could both have a fever, and in that case, neither one of you would know the other person had a fever. The second thing is for adults probably being a degree or two off is probably not going to be a problem, but for a child, a temperature of 100.5 versus 101.5 can put the child into two very different disease processes. The 101.5 can mean all sorts of the different diseases versus the 100.5. So for children especially. And again, that ear thermometer for the children, if you use it effectively, if you use the technique correctly, can be very effective, get the temperature back in about a second.

KAGAN: Very good. Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Atlanta. Sanjay, thank you.

GUPTA: Good to see you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired August 12, 2003 - 08:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: In today's "Paging Dr. Gupta," taking your temperature used to be as easy as slipping a thermometer under your tongue and getting the measurement moments later. But now, that classic mercury thermometer is increasingly being banned, but there are some interesting alternatives. Some may not be that effective.
So we bring Sanjay Gupta in from Atlanta to tell us more about that.

Sanjay, good morning.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, yes.

If you call the doctor and tell them that you're sick, they're probably going to ask you did you take your temperature or do you have a fever? So for a long time people relied on these mercury thermometers, you know the old standby, but lately, they've been getting sort of a bad rap, not just because they're hard to read here, but potentially because they have risks as well.

Mercury itself is a known toxic chemical there. Exposure to it, and we're taking about the kind of exposure from just inhaling small amounts of the mercury can cause dizziness, slurred speech and brain damage.

Now obviously, these are rare problems, and many people are saying, yes, they're rare, but why take the chance at all. So much so they are no longer carried by 90 percent of pharmacy chains , and they're banned in 11 states.

So a lot of people are looking to alternatives to try and figure out whether or not there's other effect of ways to take your temperature.

One way, for example is this digital thermometer. There are pros and cons to a digital thermometer. There are pros. It is actually very easy to use. It's ergonomically correct. You can use it in your mouth. You can use it underneath your arm. You can also use it rectally. It takes about 60 seconds, however, for the temperature to actually come back. So that's a little bit of a long time, especially with a squirmy child.

There's also the infrared thermometer. It's actually you put this in your child's ear and this will work pretty well. It takes about a second for the temperature to come back.

One of the downsides of something like this, though, however, it's pretty expensive, about 50 bucks for this thing.

And then, finally, really a sort of neat thermometer. This is rather new. It's killed a forehead thermometer. A forehead thermometer also expense about $50. And you put it in the room for about 20 to 25 minutes. You just put it on your forehead, but you have to put it in the room 20 to 25 minutes ahead of time, for it to acclimate to the room temperature, but then it takes you a temperature in about five seconds.

The last two are kind of pricey. The digital thermometer, probably your best bet overall. It's pretty cheap. It's pretty effective as well. But for a squirmy child probably not your best bet. Mercury, a bit of a problem, Daryn. People are becoming more and more aware of that. You're going to start seeing some campaigns warning about the dangers of mercury as well -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Speaking of forehead thermometers, most moms have one. It's called the hand, or the back of their hand. Why do you need one of these fancy thermometers? Why is it so important to know either your temperature or your child's temperature within a couple of degrees?

GUPTA: Well, two questions there. Well, first of all it's very hard, actually, to take someone's temperature the way you were taking Bill's earlier. One is that you could both have a fever, and in that case, neither one of you would know the other person had a fever. The second thing is for adults probably being a degree or two off is probably not going to be a problem, but for a child, a temperature of 100.5 versus 101.5 can put the child into two very different disease processes. The 101.5 can mean all sorts of the different diseases versus the 100.5. So for children especially. And again, that ear thermometer for the children, if you use it effectively, if you use the technique correctly, can be very effective, get the temperature back in about a second.

KAGAN: Very good. Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Atlanta. Sanjay, thank you.

GUPTA: Good to see you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com