I received this thermometer free through Influenster.  As always, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Friday before last, this thermometer arrived in the mail.  The following morning, Livia woke up sick.  Perfect timing.  (Perfect timing on the thermometer; not the sickness.  There isn’t perfect timing on that!)  We’ve now been about two weeks of this stupid stomach virus (with one family member or another) and this no-touch/forehead thermometer has really come in handy.

Coverless

One of the things I really love about it is that it doesn’t require covers.  That means not only do I not need to pay to buy replacements; I don’t have to worry about running out.  Because it can be used without even touching the sick person, there’s no concern about transferring germs.  If you do choose the contact method, it’s easy to clean the thermometer’s surface.

Batteries

It take “normal” batteries.  This is also a plus, in terms of “running out.” Most digital thermometers use weird button batteries that don’t fit anything else in the house, so it’s easy to run out and hard to find replacements.  This just uses plain old AA batteries, which we always have on hand because “everything” else uses them, anyway.

Ease of Use

This thermometer is incredibly easy to use!  Aim it at the forehead, right between the eyebrows — there’s a light to help with your aim, and it will tell you if you’re not close enough, too — and press the button.  Almost instantly, it will beep to tell you the reading is complete. AND the display will light up green, yellow, or red, depending on the severity of the temperature.

In this picture, I’m a little off-center because I’m trying to use my left hand while taking a photo with the right, but you can get the idea.  (Caleb’s temperature is pretty low because he just woke up.)

Caleb was a little weirded out by it the first time or two, because he couldn’t figure out what I was doing, but after the first couple of times he got comfortable with it and would even lean a little closer to make it easier for me.

If the little one is sleeping, this is great.  The beep can be turned off so you don’t disturb him. The lighted display is easy to read even in a dark bedroom.  And since you don’t have to touch him, that doesn’t disturb him, either.

Accuracy

I’m not really certain how accurate this is.  I’m guessing an oral or rectal thermometer is still the best best for accuracy.  But given how difficult it is, as a mom, to get a tiny one to be still long enough to get a reading with one of those methods, this is more accurate for me in practical terms.  It seems to have shown the sickies in our house as feverish or nearly so, and the healthy people at normal temps, so I’d say it’s at least in the ballpark.  And you definitely can’t take an oral or rectal temperature while your child sleeps!

All in all, I’d say this is a really handy tool to have in my arsenal.