My little boy always cries when I take his temperature

My little boy is 6 months old. He has had a bit of a rough start. So far he has been sick quite a lot. My mother always told me that as soon as a mother suspects her child is ill she should take his temperature. But to be honest: I really do not like that. Because every time I take his temperature he starts to cry.

When I visited my doctor the other day I asked her why that might be. Is he simply scared of a thermometer? My doctor asked me what kind of thermometer I use. It is an old in-ear thermometer, I said.  

My doctor told me to never use an in-ear thermometer with young children. I was surprised because I have used this thermometer for many years and I have always been satisfied with it. But then my doctor explained that the ear canal of a baby is too small to be able to accept the sensor of a thermometer. By pushing the thermometer into their ear you may hurt them or even damage their ear drum. That frightened me a lot. So I asked the doctor to check his ears. I was very relieved when she told me that her inspection showed no damage whatsoever in his ears.

Of course I asked her what kind of thermometer I should use when I want to check the temperature of my son. My doctor said she uses a Temporal Artery Thermometer for her own family. Very accurate and very easy to use, she said. All it takes is a gentle swipe with the thermometer across the forehead and you have performed a perfect measurement of your child’s temperature.