How I use my thermometer to see if I have hay fever or the flu

I have a complicated relationship with the spring. We live in a part of the country where winters are usually very cold. So when spring finally arrives I love the feeling of the sun on my skin. It is also great to see my son play in the grass again instead of always staying inside because it is freezing cold outside.

But with spring also comes … hay fever. And lots of people having a cold and going about their day sniffling. Sometimes I don’t feel physically so well either. The problem is that until recently I never knew if I was feeling a bit sick because of the hay fever. Or because I was having a cold or even the flu.

A friend of mine told me about a simple trick she uses when she is not sure if she is not feeling very well because of hay fever or for example the flu. When she is not feeling well she simply takes her own temperature. Because there is this very easy rule of thumb: if you have a raised temperature or a fever it is probably a cold or the flu. But when your temperature is normal you are probably feeling not so well because of hay fever.

I also asked my friend what thermometer she is using. Because our thermometer is quite old and I never liked the idea of sticking a thermometer in your ear. Let alone the ear of my son. She told me she had bought a US thermometer that measures your temperature with a gentle swipe of the thermometer across your forehead. It seems there is an artery just below the skin on your forehead. These Temporal Artery Thermometers measure you body temperature via this artery on your forehead. Very easy to do. And now finally I know what is going on when I do not feel very well during the spring. Do I measure a fever it might very well be the flu. Otherwise it is probably simply my hay fever that is bothering me again.