As a young parent, even though I had just finished filling my head full of medical facts, I felt alarm when my infant daughter ran a fever. The first thing I had to do was to measure her temperature. Grandmas’ method of touching the baby’s forehead against her own was an OK way of measuring a moderate to high fever but certainly did not meet the standard of accuracy demanded by this young doctor. The current method of sticking the end of an electronic gadget in her ear, instead of using a conventional thermometer, didn’t exist. So horrors, all we had for infants was the rectal thermometer. The end would be coated with Vaseline, then gently inserted and held in place for what seemed like forever. In a bit of foresight, the rectal thermometer had a much more bulbous end than the oral thermometer, which would prevent breakage and damage to the rectum. It wasn’t until the late ’70s and ’80s that mercury, making its way through the atmosphere and ocean to our shores, from coal burned throughout the world (as methyl mercury, the organic form) was found to poison fish in the Great Lakes. This became a real environmental concern which also got the American Academy of Pediatrics concerned about the possibility of the rectal thermometer breaking and poisoning an infant. Broken glass in the rectum would not be good, and elemental mercury can be toxic, but nothing like the extent of damage from methyl mercury. Since our little ones can’t express what is causing their distress, we feel a greater sense of urgency. Thus the modern infrared thermometer ameliorates a real safety concern besides allowing a quick decision on fever.

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