When taking someone’s temperature, why is the underside of the tongue a reliable spot?
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It is because of the amount of blood flow close the the surface. Same reason anal is also accurate and the arm pit can give a decent reading as well ( though not as accurate and anything internal). That is the reason the ear is good too (using infrared to get to the inner ear)
Under the tongue is good because you have some large vessels close to the skin, but it’s still usually 1-2 degrees off. Rectal is considered the best way to get a reliable core temperature because, well…it’s your core.
Cons of other spots:
1. Oral: You breath in an out, cooling your mouth compared to your “core”. Also easily effected by food/drinks, and unreliable if you’ve recently been out in cold weather.
2. Ear: Other Aural. Works great as long as there’s no wax build up which can throw off the reading.
3. Infrared: Forehead readings…again works great in theory, can be thrown off by low ambient temperature, sweating and high lighting conditions.
4. Axillary: AKA armpit, again can be thrown off by low ambient temperatures. Good for a quick and dirty idea of if someones running a fever, not generally preferred for diagnosis.
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