Published Mar 6, 2007
Busy Mama
4 Posts
I just read in one of my books about taking inguinal temperatures. I've never heard of this before and have never seen it used. Have any of you used it before, and how accurate do you think it is? Do you have to add or subtract a degree like with rectal and axillary? I think it would be so much more comfortable for a patient than doing a temperature rectally. My 2 1/2 year old daughter has just been released from being hospitalized for over 2 weeks and they had started to do rectal temeratures on her because she slept with her arms up so the axillary temperatures were no where near close to being accurate. I wished I had read about the inguinal temperatures before they didn't have to take her temperature anymore. I'm just wondering if this is something I can take with me into my own nursing practice. Please let me know if anyone has used this method and what you think of it.
Daytonite, BSN, RN
1 Article; 14,604 Posts
I recall doing them, probably in one of the nursing homes I was working, probably because we weren't allowed to do rectals and because the patients weren't cooperating for us to take oral or axillary temps. Sometimes we had to get creative. The idea with temps is to position the probe, or thermometer between two skin surfaces that have been in contact for some time, preferably close to some kind of major blood vessel(s). Not sure about the difference in degrees between this and oral or rectal routes. However, as long as they are being consistently done at the same area, once you have a baseline reading, the importance will be in any variance from it.