How To Accurately Measure Body Temperature With A Mercury Thermometer

1.Preparation：

The following situations should be avoided 20-30 minutes before measurement: strenuous exercise, eating, drinking too cold or too hot water, bathing, or cold or hot compresses. If the above situations occur, please rest for 30 minutes before measuring your body temperature.

2.Examination:

First check whether the thermometer is damaged, and then check whether the top of the mercury column is below 35°C. If the temperature is higher than 35°C, the mercury column of the thermometer should be lowered below 35°C first.

3.Measurement

Take armpit measurement as an example. Before using the thermometer, wipe it with an alcohol cotton ball to disinfect it, and wipe your armpit with a dry towel to keep it dry. Place the end of the mercury tank in the center of the armpit, and the user adopts a posture of bending the arms across the chest and clamping the armpits. The measurement time is 10 minutes.

4.Reading

Hold the end of the thermometer horizontally (not the mercury groove section), keep your line of sight on the same plane as the thermometer, slowly rotate the thermometer, and the number corresponding to the top of the mercury column is the current body temperature.

Normal body temperature is not a specific temperature point, but a temperature range.

Generally, it is represented by the body temperature of the mouth, armpit and rectum. The normal value range is: oral sublingual temperature is 36.3℃-37.2℃; armpit temperature is 36.0℃-37.0℃; rectal temperature is 36.5℃-37.7℃, which is higher than the oral temperature (0.2℃-0.5℃).

Body temperature is not fixed and may fluctuate with factors such as gender, age, day and night, exercise and mood changes, but this change is usually within the normal range.

Women usually have a slightly higher body temperature than men. Ovulating women have a slightly higher body temperature before menstruation and early pregnancy, and a lower body temperature during ovulation.

The surrounding environment can also affect body temperature. For example, if the surrounding temperature is too high or you sweat under a thick blanket, your body temperature will rise.

The body temperature of newborns is easily affected by the external temperature and can be slightly higher than that of adults. The body temperature of the elderly is low due to their low metabolic rate.

Generally, the body temperature is lowest at 2-5 in the morning and highest at 5-7 in the afternoon, and the range of variation is about 0.5℃-1℃. People who work at night for a long time will have a rise in body temperature at night and a drop in body temperature during the day.

Sympathetic nerves are excited when you are emotionally excited, and skeletal muscles contract during exercise, which can cause a slight increase in body temperature.

What should I do if mercury is accidentally broken?

If the mercury thermometer is accidentally broken, first pls check whether the skin is punctured by broken glass. Stay away from the area around the broken parts. Open the door and window to enhance ventilation, and turn off heaters, air conditioners and other heating equipment. Then use tin foil, wet cotton swabs, wide tape, etc. Collect and put them in bags or bottles and seal them. According to garbage classification standards, all mercury waste should be placed in hazardous waste recycling bins; it is strictly prohibited to grab mercury with bare hands and pour it into the sewer.