Why is taking a temperature important?
Fever is our body’s healthy response to viruses and bacteria. In the event of an infection, it ensures optimal working conditions for our immune system. But if the temperature rises to more than 40 degrees, it threatens to overheat. That’s why we should keep an eye on the fever. Clinical thermometers can help.
Test results for 20 clinical thermometers 09/2021
Types of clinical thermometers: ear, forehead and mouth
Stiftung Warentest tested 20 measuring devices: 8 digital contact thermometers – also known as rod thermometers – 3 ear thermometers, 3 combined ear and forehead thermometers and 6 non-contact infrared measuring devices.
Pleasing: There are good devices in all groups, the cheapest from 6 euros. Used correctly, they deliver reliable results. The grade was good eight times, satisfactory seven times, and sufficient three times. We couldn’t rate two devices because they don’t have a calibration mode (see box at the bottom of this page).
This is what the clinical thermometer test by Stiftung Warentest offers
- Testergebnisse.
- Our table shows ratings for 20 clinical thermometers, including 8 stick thermometers as well as 3 ear, 6 infrared forehead and 3 combined ear-forehead thermometers. We tested well-known brands such as Beurer, Braun, Scala and Uebe, but also a discounter product from dm (prices: 3.45 to 86.00 euros). In addition to measuring accuracy and handling, we also checked whether the thermometers contain harmful substances.
- tips and background.
- We reveal how to measure fever correctly, which type of measurement was the most accurate in the test and what are the special features of rod, ear and forehead thermometers.
- Heftartikel.
- If you unlock the topic, you will get access to the PDF for the test report from 9/2021.
Laboratory: The clinical thermometers had to be able to do this in the test
© Stiftung Warentest / Thomas Vossbeck
The thermometers had to prove their measuring accuracy under laboratory conditions. For example, we tested them at different room temperatures and after they had been in a climate chamber with 80 percent humidity for 24 hours at 30 and 10 degrees.
Practice: How well does fever measurement work in everyday life?
It was even more important to us that the temperature measurement also works under everyday conditions. For this, the clinical thermometer must be used correctly. To check this, ten adults measured their own body temperature and parents measured the temperature of ten children. A specialist also measured. The temperature in the mouth was determined with the stick thermometer. This only delivers reliable results if the fever measuring device is placed at the back under the tongue and not under the armpit. We have not tested the latter method.
Pollutants: Three stick thermometers contain nickel
Testers examined the measuring tips of the rod thermometers for nickel – a metal that can trigger allergies. They found what they were looking for in three devices. However, there is no acute danger. According to allergy experts, oral or rectal intake of nickel does not pose any risk for people who have not previously had an allergic reaction to nickel.
Infrared thermometer: which is better – forehead or ear measurement?
Parents often find it more practical to measure fever in children with infrared ear and forehead thermometers. How reliable the measurement result is depends on how skillfully you use the devices.
Ohrthermometer: Position it so that the sensor on the measuring tip can detect the heat rays from the eardrum in order to determine the body temperature.
Stirnthermometer: Measure directly on the skin or, with contactless devices, from a distance of two or three centimetres. Sweat or dirt on the skin can falsify the fever measurement.
Tipp: More tips in our sub-article Measure fever correctly.
Why didn’t two clinical thermometers get a grade?
We were not able to examine two thermometers in the laboratory: the Scala SC 53 FH ear-forehead combo model and the infrared forehead thermometer from Withings. They don’t have a calibration mode. Only in this basic setting can it be determined in comparison with a reference thermometer how accurately the device actually measures. We can therefore not give a test quality rating for the two. However, we evaluated the test items “temperature measurement in practice” and “handling” as well as (withings) “data transmission behavior of the app” individually.