Taking Your Child's Oral (By Mouth) Temperature
For most kids over 4 years old, taking a temperature by mouth works well as long as the child can follow simple instructions. You can take your child's oral temperature by putting the tip of a thermometer under your child's tongue.
To take an oral temperature:
-
Use a digital thermometer labeled for oral use. Do not use a glass thermometer that contains mercury, as these aren't safe.
-
Before and after use: Clean the end of the thermometer with rubbing alcohol or soap and water and rinse with cool water.
-
If your child ate, drank, or had a bath, wait at least 20–30 minutes to take the temperature.
-
Make sure there's no food or gum in your child's mouth.
-
Place the tip of the thermometer under the tongue and ask your child to close his or her lips around it. Tell your child not to bite the thermometer or talk, and to breathe normally through the nose.
-
Wait with your child until the thermometer signals that the temperature is ready to be read.
-
Remove the thermometer and write down the number on the thermometer screen and the time of day.
-
A reading of 100°F (37.8°C) or above means your child has a fever.
-
Do not take an oral temperature in a child who has trouble following directions. Take a rectal, temporal (forehead), ear, or axillary (armpit) temperature instead.
Temperatures taken in different ways can give different readings:
|
Type of measurement
|
Where you take the temperature
|
When is the temperature a fever?
|
|
Rectal
|
Bottom
|
100.4°F (38.0°C) or greater
|
|
Ear
|
Ear
|
100.4°F (38.0°C) or greater
|
|
Temporal Artery
|
Forehead
|
100.4°F (38.0°C) or greater
|
|
Oral
|
Under tongue
|
100°F (37.8°C) or greater
|
|
Axillary
|
Under armpit
|
99°F (37.2°C) or greater
|
Taking temperature by age:
-
Babies younger than 3 months: Rectal method is best.
-
Babies between 3 and 6 months: Rectal method is best. Temporal artery or axillary method may be used.
-
Kids between 6 months and 4 years: Rectal method is best. Ear, temporal artery, or axillary method may be used.
-
Kids 4 years or older: Oral method is best if child can properly hold the thermometer under the tongue. If not, rectal, temporal, ear, or axillary method may be used.
Axillary and temporal artery methods can be used at any age (including less than 3 months) to "screen" for fever (get an idea about whether there may be fever). If these show a fever, you should double-check by taking a rectal or oral temperature.
