How to understand that you have a high temperature. Determining temperature without a thermometer

how to tell if you have a temperature without a thermometer and got the best answer

Answer from Liliya Kovaleva[guru]
The traditional method of determining temperature without a thermometer is to place your hand on your forehead or touch it with your lips. This method, of course, gives very approximate results, but it is still possible to determine whether the temperature is elevated or not.
At high temperatures, as a rule, the legs and arms become cold, but the temperature rises in the groin area, elbow pits, at the base of the skull and in the hollows under the knees. By placing your hand on one of these places, you can feel it.
An increase in temperature is accompanied by fatigue and body aches. The patient may have very red cheeks and shiny eyes.
In addition, high temperature provokes an increase in heart rate. So, in a one-year-old child in a horizontal position, the normal pulse is one hundred and forty beats per minute, and in an adult – eighty beats. With an increase in body temperature, a child’s pulse can increase by twenty beats per minute, and in an adult – by eight beats.
You can also determine your temperature without a thermometer by your breathing rate, which is calculated in a relaxed state. In a waking adult, the breathing rate is twenty breaths per minute (in a sleeping adult it slows down to twelve breaths). A one-year-old baby takes thirty breaths per minute.
As the temperature rises, dehydration occurs (extreme thirst, dry mouth, problems urinating). The presence of these signs can only indicate one thing - that the temperature has risen too much.

Reply from Berta Stepanenko[newbie]
I have a headache what should I do?


Reply from Denis Mirolubov[newbie]
Yes


Reply from Zhanna Vasilenko[newbie]
You can touch your forehead with your palm


Reply from Edotova Daria[active]
Yes


Reply from Masha Kate[newbie]
In the traditional way, touch your forehead or touch it with your hand. If you are alone at home, then of course you will not be able to touch your lips to your mouth, and you yourself will not be able to detect the temperature with your hand. Look for ways on the Internet other than the mail.ru answers site, for example the sites listed above. You can also cup your hand and bring it to your mouth, slightly covering your nose, breathe and see if the wings of your nose are hot?


Reply from Artur Pomishin[newbie]
The first method is known to almost every person. You need to touch the forehead of the sick person with your lips or eyelid. If there is fever, the other person will notice it very quickly. You can touch it with your hand, but since the skin on it is rougher, it will be much more difficult to understand the difference.
2
If you are alone, cup your palm, bring it to your mouth and exhale into it. At elevated temperatures, you will feel the heat in the wings of your nose.
3
Check your pulse. When body temperature rises by one degree, the pulse increases by an average of 10 beats per minute. That is, if your pulse is 30 beats higher than usual, then your temperature is about forty degrees. But this method is only suitable for those who know their “working” pulse. And, of course, before taking measurements you should not perform physical activities, drink tea, coffee or smoke.
More details:


Reply from Katyunya[guru]
For example, when I have a fever. feeling of stuffiness in the nose


Reply from Sarek[guru]
Ask someone to touch your forehead with their lips.


Reply from Psrpmsr eashgashapyu[newbie]
Touch your love with your hand and you will understand everything for yourself ^^


Reply from Petya Yushchenko[newbie]
No)


Reply from Andrey Shadrin[expert]
breathe on the back of your hand, if it feels hot, it’s probably there


Reply from Ivetok™[guru]
When the temperature is low, the following usually happens: the ears begin to burn, the cheeks begin to burn, the brow ridges tingle or even hurt, and heaviness in the back of the head.
At high temperatures, a person becomes sleepy, loses appetite, and gets chills.

An increase in body temperature is the body's response to the introduction of viruses and bacteria. This is a good sign, proving that the defenses have activated and begun to fight foreign microbes. You cannot lower the temperature if it is less than 38°C. But as soon as the indicators reach this critical point, you should begin to act.

It also happens that there is no thermometer at hand or it has become hopelessly damaged. What should I do? Is there a way to determine body temperature without a special device? In order not to make a mistake and begin timely treatment of the disease, you should learn about traditional methods of determining fever.

How to determine body temperature without a thermometer?

  • Touch the patient's forehead. This needs to be entrusted to someone else, because the person himself is not able to recognize the heat: his palm has a common temperature with the body and will not become an informative tool. Mothers touching their babies' foreheads with their lips is a reliable option that will tell you much more about hyperthermia. With your lips you can understand that the temperature is very high or is still within an acceptable range. You can touch not only the forehead, but also the neck, the area under the armpits, and under the knees.
  • Listen to your breathing. The patient's tense, rapid sighs indicate a high body temperature. If you count the number of movements of the diaphragm, you can find out that the patient is worried about fever. A healthy adult body satisfies its oxygen needs with 12-17 inhalations/exhalations per minute, and when a focus of infection occurs and body temperature rises, their number increases by 1.5-2 times.
  • Count your pulse. With hyperthermia, a person’s heart works under strain and contracts much more often than usual. At a normal rate of 80 beats, an increase in temperature to 37°C will add 10 additional ones, and at 38°C – 20. Every 10 extra heartbeats allows one to suspect an increase in temperature by 1°C.
  • Too high levels are indicated by convulsions, fever, and delirium of the patient. These symptoms do not require clarification of the situation; you must urgently call an ambulance and try to normalize the condition yourself.

Special modern devices and tools will help young mothers decide. These are pacifiers, patches, ear thermometers, which allow you to determine the time to start treatment without a thermometer. Often, all such devices cannot show the exact body temperature, but they signal that a dangerous barrier has been overcome. For example, a patch reacts with color at 38°C and above, and an ear thermometer and pacifier at the same indicators can turn on an indicator (sound or light).

You should not delay in providing assistance to the patient. Hyperthermia is a signal from the body about a problem that needs to be addressed immediately.

Body temperature rises in response to infection. This is a kind of protective reaction, the functioning of the immune system. Doctors do not advise shooting down if the thermometer shows less than 38 degrees. You need to give your body the opportunity to fight on its own. But fever is dangerous: the body becomes dehydrated and health worsens. It is no longer possible to do without drugs.

It happens that loved ones feel bad, but there is not even a thermometer at hand. Something needs to be done, some medicine needs to be given. How to determine which one? Maybe it's not the temperature? A situation that brings us closer to panic and our loved ones closer to fainting. Knowing how to determine the temperature without a thermometer will come in handy.

  • the person feels weak;
  • he is shivering;
  • the face and neck become red or red spots appear on the skin.

Sometimes there is aching in the bones and inflamed eyes. Sometimes sweating increases.

All these signs cannot be absolute for determining high body temperature. It's even more difficult with small children. Some of them rush around the house eagerly, as if healthy. And if an adult wants to drink often, then kids have to be forced.

External heat indicators are individual for each person. Therefore, you should not rely on observation results.

How to measure temperature without a thermometer?

There is a measuring device in every home medicine cabinet. Anyone knows how long to hold a thermometer, how to use it, and read the readings (if the thermometer is not electronic). Why check the condition without a thermometer?

Situations vary. It can become bad in any place where there is no home first aid kit and there is no life-saving thermometer. And you may not have a thermometer at home. Crashed. And we haven’t bought a new one yet.

We will measure in other ways:


When a loved one begins to have a fever, convulsions, and delirium appear, we urgently call an ambulance. There is no time for measurements. Most likely, your loved one is suffering from severe fever.

Body temperature is checked in different ways:

  1. Rectally - in the rectum.
  2. Orally - in the mouth.
  3. Under the arm.
  4. On the forehead - for this, infrared scanners are used to check the artery.
  5. In the ear - also with the help of scanners.

For each method, there are electronic thermometers specifically designed for each location. There is plenty to choose from. But there is also a problem: cheap (sometimes not very cheap) devices often lie or fail. Therefore, when choosing an electronic thermometer, do not skimp, be sure to read the reviews and check the mercury readings at least once.

The latter, by the way, is preferred by many. A maximum mercury thermometer (as a thermometer is correctly called) costs a penny and is quite accurate, which cannot be said about many electronic devices with “so-so” quality. However, it is dangerous because it is easy, and shards of glass and mercury vapor have not made anyone healthier.

No matter what kind of thermometer you use, read its instructions first.

After each use, it would be good to clean the thermometer: wash it, if possible, or wipe it with an antiseptic. Be careful if the thermometer is sensitive to moisture and may become damaged. It’s embarrassing to mention, but still, a thermometer for rectal measurements should not be used anywhere else.

How to measure the temperature under the arm

Most often, we measure the temperature under the arm with a regular mercury or electronic thermometer. Here's how to do it right:

  1. You should not take your temperature after eating or exercising. Wait half an hour.
  2. Before starting the measurement, the glass thermometer must be shaken off: the mercury column should show less than 35 °C. If the thermometer is electronic, just turn it on.
  3. The armpit should be dry. The sweat needs to be wiped off.
  4. Keep your hand pressed tightly. In order for the temperature under the armpit to become the same as inside the body, the skin must warm up, and this takes time. It is better to press the child’s shoulder yourself, for example, by picking up the baby in your arms.
  5. The good news: if you follow the previous rule, the mercury thermometer will take 5 minutes, not 10, as is commonly believed. Many electronic thermometers respond to temperature changes and measure as long as these changes exist. Therefore, if you do not press your hand, the temperature may change for a long time and the results will be inaccurate.

How to measure temperature rectally

This method is sometimes needed when you need to check the temperature of babies: it is difficult for them to hold their hand, it is unsafe to put something in their mouth, and not everyone has an expensive infrared sensor.

  1. The part of the thermometer that you will insert into the rectum should be lubricated with petroleum jelly or petroleum jelly (available at any pharmacy).
  2. Place the child on his side or back, bend his legs.
  3. Carefully insert the thermometer into the anus 1.5–2.5 cm (depending on the size of the sensor), hold the child while the measurement is taken. A mercury thermometer should be held for 2 minutes, an electronic one - for as long as written in the instructions (usually less than a minute).
  4. Remove the thermometer and look at the data.
  5. Treat your child's skin if necessary. Wash the thermometer.

How to measure the temperature in your mouth

This method is not suitable for children under four years of age, because at this age children cannot yet reliably hold a thermometer. Do not take your mouth temperature if you have eaten something cold in the last 30 minutes.

  1. Wash the thermometer.
  2. The sensor or reservoir of mercury should be placed under the tongue and the thermometer should be held with the lips.
  3. Use a regular thermometer to measure the temperature for 3 minutes, and an electronic thermometer for as long as necessary according to the instructions.

How to measure ear temperature

There are special infrared thermometers for this: it is useless to stick other thermometers into the ear. Children under 6 months old should not have their ear temperature measured. Age guidelines, because due to developmental characteristics, the results will be inaccurate. You can measure the temperature in your ear only 15 minutes after you return from the street.

Pull your ear slightly to the side and insert the thermometer probe into your ear. It takes a few seconds to measure.

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Some infrared devices measure temperature on the forehead, where the artery runs through. Data from the forehead or ear are not as accurate Fever: First aid, as with other measurements, but they are fast. But for household measurements, it is not so important what your temperature is: 38.3 or 38.5 °C.

How to read a thermometer

The measurement result depends on the accuracy of the thermometer, the correctness of the measurements and where the measurements were taken.

The temperature in the mouth is higher than under the armpit by 0.3–0.6 °C, rectal - by 0.6–1.2 °C, in the ear - up to 1.2 °C. That is, 37.5 °C is an alarming figure for measurement under the arm, but not for rectal measurement.

The norm also depends on age. In children under one year old, the rectal temperature is up to 37.7 °C (36.5–37.1 °C under the arm), and there is nothing wrong with that. The 37.1°C under the armpit that we suffer from becomes a problem as we age.

In addition, there are individual characteristics. A healthy adult's temperature ranges from 36.1 to 37.2°C under the armpit, but someone's personal normal is 36.9°C and someone else's is 36.1. The difference is big, so in an ideal world it would be nice to take your temperature for fun when you are healthy, or at least remember what the thermometer showed during your medical examination.