Even if you have not been constantly checking for fever at home, you may have been interrupted to take your temperature while you were away during the coronavirus pandemic. Many places have adopted this COVID security measure as a way to try to prevent sick individuals from entering one space and infecting others. However, this may not be the best way to check for this common coronavirus symptom – depending on how it is being done. Although most people are examined on the forehead, according to a recent study, you should measure your temperature in two different places to detect COVID more accurately. Read on to find out which parts of the body provide the most accurate reading and to get the most safety measures against the coronavirus, Dr. Fauci says you need one at home to avoid COVID.
A study published on December 28 in Experimental Physiology says that when taking temperature measurements for COVID, you should do this in two different places: the finger and the eye. The reason you need these two measurements is because you have to measure your core body temperature. According to the researchers, even a 1-degree rise in deep body temperature can “indicate the onset of fever due to a viral infection”.
And while there are several ways to directly measure central body temperature, they are too expensive, invasive and time-consuming to be widely used in public settings. That’s why the researchers recommend measuring two sites for the most accurate estimate of deep body temperature – a central and a peripheral one. According to the study, the reason the eye is preferred over the forehead for core temperature is because it produces the highest temperature, and the same goes for your fingertips in terms of peripheral temperature. And for the most up-to-date information, subscribe to our daily newsletter.
The problem with measuring just the forehead is that it only measures someone’s surface temperature. And it can “fluctuate independently” of core body temperature, according to the researchers.
“Using a surface temperature scanner to obtain a single surface temperature, usually the forehead, is an unreliable method for detecting fever associated with Covid-19”, co-author of the study Michael J. Tipton, PhD, professor at the University of Portsmouth, said in a statement. “Many factors make measuring skin temperature a poor substitute for deep body temperature; skin temperature can change regardless of deep body temperature for several reasons. Even if such a single measure reliably reflected deep body temperature, other things , like exercise, can raise body temperature profoundly. “And to learn more about fevers, these are the worst things you can do if you have a fever.
As we know, coronavirus can present itself in many different ways. And while an early February 2020 study in China found that fever was the most common symptom in patients with COVID, it is possible that someone has the coronavirus and does not have a fever. In fact, the researchers in the December study said that at least 11% of coronavirus patients never have a fever, and even those who experience this symptom later in the disease can “be contagious several days before the fever starts”. Therefore, a temperature check alone may not be the best COVID indicator. And if you’re worried about getting sick, this strange symptom may be the only sign that you have COVID, says the study.
If you have a fever, it does not necessarily mean that you have the coronavirus. This is especially true when relying only on a forehead temperature scan to detect fever. As the researchers noted, someone’s surface temperature can increase on their forehead due to a number of factors that may not be an infection, such as “room temperature, exercise, alcohol consumption, food consumption, sunburn and various problems of skin”. And to learn more about coronavirus symptoms, find out the first signs that you have COVID, according to the Mayo Clinic.