Core body temperature
Measuring core body temperature is an ideal way to determine if somebody has fever. Core body temperature is the temperature of the vital organs such as the heart and the brain. Since these are not easily accessible for home measurements, doctors have identified other sites. But are all measuring sites equally suitable for taking an accurate temperature reading?
The ear is ideal to reflect core body temperature
As the eardrum shares the blood supply with the temperature control center in the brain it accurately reflects the core body temperature. Therefore, changes in the body temperature are reflected sooner and more accurately in the ear than at other sites. So the ear is an excellent site to measure temperature and is clinically proven a reliable indicator of core body temperature.
More accurate than rectal (1)
- Rectal temperatures lag behind changes in core body temperature and therefore are not always a reliable indicator. Additionally rectal measurement bears the risk of cross-contamination.
No consumer method is more accurate
- Temple measurements take skin temperatures. Therefore the measured temperature can be influenced by external factors such as sweating or drafts.
- Oral temperatures can be influenced by drinking, eating and breathing.
- Axillary temperatures only measure skin temperature and are therefore not a reliable indicator of core body temperature.
Clinical studies confirm that ear thermometers reflect changes in the core body temperature faster than rectal measurements and are more accurate than rectal or temple readings.
(1) Measurements in detecting temperature changes
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