As with many modern technological advances, we’re now able to get all kinds of information with the touch of a button. Even thermometers, which once took several minutes in order to get a true reading, have gone digital, making it so much easier to get an accurate, readable temperature. If you haven’t upgraded your mercury thermometer, now is the time to swap out this bathroom cabinet staple for a modern version.

But with so many types of thermometers on the market, how do you choose the right one? Good question!. We’ve selected one thermometer of every type to highlight key features and things you should consider before choosing yours. Read more...

98.6 degrees Fahrenheit has been considered “normal” body temperature, one recent study calculated it is closer to 97.9. Regardless, health experts are pretty unanimous when it comes to what defines a fever—100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. “Fever is often just a sign of the body fighting some type of an infection—and an elevated temperature is a good thing and is helping your body recover,”.

Identifying a fever is crucial and “accuracy is critical for your physician to make an appropriate assessment of the situation”. Investing in an accurate thermometer can keep you and your family’s health in check. When shopping for a thermometer, keep the user in mind as well as the type of thermometer the user will be comfortable with. Additional thermometer features, like connected apps, can also be beneficial in tracking your health. To make shopping easier, we tested 25 thermometers and reviewed each one to find the best based on five categories: ease of setup, response time, consistency of results, ease of use, and data readability. Read more...

The overall best thermometer in terms of value for its ease of use and speed is the iHealth No-Touch Forehead Thermometer PT3. It provides results within 1 second and its contact-free design makes it easy to scan a number of people’s temperatures in succession.

The best budget thermometer is the Femometer Digital Thermometer. It’s the cheapest thermometer on our list and is the most similar to the mercury thermometers you may have used in the past. The main drawback is that it can take a while to get your thermometer reading, but the price is worth your patience. Read more...

Since the start of the pandemic, thermometers have been in and out of stock, forcing many people to pay more than usual for “good enough.” Know this, though: Most fever thermometers will read your temperature accurately. The best ones are also fast and easy to read—so you can quickly figure out what to do if you or a member of your household may be sick. If you’re looking for a digital oral/rectal/armpit stick thermometer, our pick is the Vicks ComfortFlex.

If you want an in-ear thermometer, we recommend the Equate Infrared In-Ear Digital Thermometer. And if you’d prefer a contactless forehead thermometer, the Hetaida htd8813c (sold as the Homedics TIE-240 Non-Contact Infrared Body Thermometer, among other names) is our top pick. We recommend the ThermoWorks Wand No Touch Forehead Thermometer as an alternate contactless option. Read more...

Having an accurate thermometer on hand can help tell you how severely the body is in distress - whether it's confirming that you or your baby is ill enough to require a visit to a doctor or the hospital, or if your systems are safe after being exposed to dangerous weather. A fever is also one of the key symptoms of COVID-19 and influenza tends to produce higher fevers than common colds.

Luckily, getting a quick temperature reading is remarkably easy and safe these days. But the biggest variable among thermometers you can buy is really just: Is it accurate? That's why I tested 10 leading thermometers, in addition to speaking with many experts, doctors, and parents on which type of home thermometer is best. I've also provided answers to a few FAQs, as well as insight into how I tested each of the thermometers, at the end of this guide. Read more...

A reliable thermometer is a staple for every family’s medicine cabinet, as keeping tabs on you and your child’s temperature can help detect infection. It can be difficult for kids to clearly communicate exactly what’s wrong when they feel under the weather—a thermometer is an important tool parents can use to monitor their overall health and wellness.

To find the best thermometers on the market, the Forbes Health editorial team analyzed data on over 50 thermometers for adults and children, looking at metrics ranging from price to special features like fever indicators, historical readings log and ability to be used on multiple sites. See which thermometers stand out. Note: All prices are accurate as of publication date and are subject to change. Read more...

A reliable thermometer for checking body temperature when you or your child might be sick is a household health essential. And while drugstores tend to carry some basic contact models, it can be hard to know what you’ll find where — and it’s better to have the right tools on hand before someone in your home is under the weather.

Whether you opt for a standard oral thermometer for adults and children, a rectal thermometer for infants, or a non-contact thermometer that uses readings from your forehead or inner ear, these devices can provide quick and accurate readings to alert you to a fever and help you track body temperature throughout an illness. Some women may also use thermometers to track ovulation via their basal body temperature, and many models are now equipped with smart capabilities for tracking and logging the temperatures of multiple users. Read more...

Choosing the thermometer that's best for your family can be confusing. Here's what you need to know about the most common thermometers.

Types of thermometers: In general, there are two types of thermometers. Touch, or contact, thermometers must touch the body in order to measure temperature. Remote, or no contact, thermometers can measure body temperature without touching the skin.

Contact thermometers: The most common kind of contact thermometer uses electronic heat sensors to record body temperature. These thermometers can be used on the forehead, mouth, armpit or rectum. Most electronic thermometers have a digital display that shows you the temperature reading. Read more...

As mercury thermometers are a thing of the past, you no longer have to wait several minutes to read a small red line. Instead, there are now five different types of thermometers — rectal, oral, axillary (armpit), temporal (forehead) and tympanic (remote ear) — that can display a reading in seconds on a digital display. Many also offer helpful features like color-coded backgrounds and fever indicators, a log of historical readings and the ability to read surface temperatures, such as a baby’s bottle.

To gain some insights on thermometers, we spoke to two medical experts. They explained that, while readings may differ a degree or two depending on whether you’re using an oral or a forehead thermometer, all types can aptly alert you to the presence of a fever. So, aside from toddlers under 3 years old (for whom a rectal thermometer is best), it all comes down to personal preference. (You can read their full insights below. Read more...