Vicks Baby Rectal Thermometer

I have been using this thermometer on my twin boys since they were babies. As others reviews state there are a couple of things to be aware of: 1. Wash carefully. This is easy enough to do. We then use an alcohol swab to ensure it's sanitized. 2. Keep spare batteries on hand. It takes SR41. I found this out the hard way. Had to send my husband to a 24 hour pharmacy at 2am. Thankfully he can home with the same thermometer so now we have a back up thermometer AND spare batteries. Nothing worse than your little one having a fever and not knowing if you need to take him or her to the ER 3. Have a water based lubricant on hand. Maybe two tubes in case like me you are adept at misplacing things. It is not OK to use a petroleum based product on a child Pros: It's quick read Accurate, as far as I can tell. Certainly better than the myriad other thermometers I have tried Cannot be inserted too far due to its design which is so reassuring Cons: The shape is a bit awkward to clean After too much time and one very frightening febrile seizure (as a result of NOT having a reliable thermometer on hand) I happened upon this great product. Peace of mind in an area where parents really need it. Can not recommend this thermometer enough. One last thing. I have found a great way to reduce a fever is to bathe my children in a luke warm bath. A cold bath will cause the body to increase its temperature. I did this at 2am (while hubby went to the all night pharmacy! ) just this morning. My son who is now 3.5 thought this was the most amazing treat to have a bath without his twin brother using only a night light :)

Update 5/5/2016: I'm bumping it up to 5 stars because it started working again, and now almost 5 years later the battery finally died. We kept the 2nd one Amazon sent us for our 2nd kid, and it has been working too. So this is a good thermometer, just don't wash it with a faucet, use wipes. Original 8/19/2011: I hated researching for a baby thermometer, spent way too much time on Amazon since all of them have some negative reviews and their is no clear winner. Went with this one anyway. I can say that when it works it is easy to use and precise, in that I got very repeatable measurements going the rectal route (cannot comment on accuracy because I did not compare it to a NIST standard). It is easy to use with a screaming wiggling baby and the beeping lets you know you have your measurement, and that measurement is locked on the display until you turn it off. That is all great. The reason I give this 3 stars is that after two uses the LCD screen filled up with moisture and became unreadable. This was after gently cleaning with soap and water as stated in the instructions. It is a very poor design that water can get in the LCD screen, I mean this is something you stick up your childs rectum, of course it is going to see a little moisture, and I was even being careful having read about this problem in other reviews. Just one simple O-Ring seal and this thermometer would be 5 stars and be the clear Amazon favorite. Amazon is sending me another, which is great, and meanwhile 12 hours later the LCD screen seems to be drying out enough to function. Perhaps I can update this to 4 stars if it salvages itself.

I’ve used this for both my kids until they were 3-4ish and couldn’t appropriately use an oral thermometer. And even so when they are very sick with high fever I will use it for a good core body temperature read. It is accurate, it is FAST to give a reading which is huge when you have a 2 year old crying and fighting you. The tip is short so even if they squirm or kick it can’t accidentally cause damage by being too deep. I always ALWAYS use surgilube to prevent any friction or soft tissue irritation and for comfort. I recommend this thermometer to every friend and family member that is having a baby.

I've had this thermometer for two kids now. It hasn't failed me yet. It's easy to use. Just lube, turn it on and stick it in (no need to worry - it doesn't hurt and you can't possibly stick it up too far). The reading comes up quickly (10 seconds?) and beeps to let you know it's done. It turns itself off if you forget. And when you turn it back on again it remembers the last reading so you can compare after a few hours without taking notes. What could be easier! Worth every penny for the peace of mind.

Bought this brand new preparing for baby. Today we needed it and it didn’t work. The battery was in there but wouldn’t turn on. We had to go get a rectal thermometer from the pharmacy. Would not buy again. I’ll go with the pharmacy store ones that last years.

This is truly an amazing product. As a first time mom I was terrified to check my babies temperature when he was just a couple months old, rectally. But the way that this thermometer is shaped it gives you peace of mind to know that there’s no way you can push it in too far and hurt your little one. It is really fast in reading the temperature, and seems quite accurate. I just used a little lubricant to help it go in, and afterwards wiped it off with an alcohol wipe. I’ve bought this several times since I received it, for baby shower gifts. Baby tolerated very well, until he got older. Can use for axillary (armpit) temp also when they get older, just look up differences on those temperatures.

I don't have much to add over the other reviews here - but this thermometer is very fast, seems to be much more accurate (readings are consistent over multiple attempts), and our son doesn't even realize what we're doing. We were initially against the 'rectal' route, but that was mostly based on old prejudices against really long, really slow older models (that we grew up with). This thermometer has a very short probe (no worries about going too far), and he has yet to even notice what we're doing. And it reads in 10 seconds or less, which is great because you're trying to get a temperature when he's screaming and crying. The armpit model we used before took up to 60 seconds, which is an eternity when he's thrashing and you're trying to hold the probe under his (thrashing) arm. All in all, works fantastic, it's pretty cheap, and we don't have to dread getting a temp!

As the title says, it's cheap, accurate, and easy to use. We have one of those fancy $60 forehead thermometers that is all over the place in its readings and a bit tricky to use. It's fast and that really is the best argument for it. This little job, though, only takes about 20 seconds to use. Turn it on, smear on a pea-sized blob of KY Jelly, stick it in, and 9 seconds later you have a very accurate reading. The display is back-lit so it's easy to read, and the thing cleans up with a baby wipe. My wife was all reluctant to use it, preferring the forehead thermometer, but now she's see how simple and accurate it is and she is a convert. The probe is so small that it doesn't upset the baby at all. When your kid is sick you want a quick accurate temperature, and this gives it to you.