Get A Quick And Accurate Temperature With The Exergen TemporalScanner {Review & Giveaway}

It is starting to feel like fall out there, even in Central Florida. The air is a little dryer, and the temperatures are starting to drop. I really enjoy this time of year. We always have fun at fall festivals and Halloween parties, we enjoy the yummy food that Thanksgiving brings, and then we get excited to gear up for Christmas. There is one thing I don't like about this time of the year, though. The sickies.

Not only is fall upon us, flu season is too. My kids and I were vaccinated for the flu this year, so I'm not overly concerned about us getting the actual flu, but there are many other viruses that are also spreading from person to person during the fall and winter months. Since both of my kids are in daycare, we tend to have several sick days from now until the spring.

The one thing that has always been a necessity in our house (during all seasons) is an accurate thermometer. When my kids were born, the pediatrician told us to always use a rectal thermometer, but once they were old enough to know what was going on, that didn't work so well. We purchased an ear thermometer, which seems to work pretty well, providing my children didn't have an ear infection. Unfortunately, though, when they do catch a virus, their ears are usually what it attacks. So what can we use that is more gentle than a rectal thermometer, and more accurate than an ear thermometer? The answer is a Temporal Artery Thermometer.

The Exergen TemporalScanner is a kinder, gentler and more exact thermometer. It is an infrared thermometer that reads a temperature in just two seconds, by capturing the naturally emitted heat from skin over the temporal artery.

So how does the TemporalScanner work?

As you gently stroke the thermometer across the forehead crossing over the temporal artery, the sensor in its probe performs two processes:

• First it scans like a video camera, capturing naturally emitted infrared heat from the arterial blood supply at about 1000 “frames” per second, locking in the highest temperature it senses and;
• Second, at the same time, a patented system measures the ambient temperature of the site where the temperature is being taken. The patented "arterial heat balance" (AHB) software then synthesizes the two separate readings to accurately determine and display body temperature.

I have noticed that most doctor's offices now use these temporal artery thermometers, so I figured they must take an accurate temperature, and I wanted to try one out at home. We recently received the Exergen TemporalScanner for review, and though I figured we would have used it several times by now, today is the first day we really had the need for it. Bryce woke up this morning with a cough that sounded like a seal's bark, and I knew immediately that he had croup. The pediatrician confirmed that and gave him some medicine to help his lungs. He didn't have a fever at the doctor's this morning, but as all of you parents know, fevers can pop up at any time, so I wanted to take his temperature before he went to bed tonight just to make sure.

The Exergen TemporalScanner was very easy to use. You simply press it to the center of the forehead, depress the button, lightly slide it across the forehead into the hairline, and then release the button. Brian and I tried it on ourselves a couple of times just to make sure we were getting normal readings, and after we figured out how to hold it correctly, it worked great. We took Bryce's temperature, and it was a normal 98.5 degrees.

My favorite feature about this thermometer is that it is non-invasive. Kids do not have to be afraid of getting something stuck in their ear (or anywhere else for that matter), nor do they have to hold still with a thermometer under their tongue or underarm. It is so quick and easy that it can even be done while a child is sleeping, provided they are in a position where you can get to at least one side of the forehead. The temporal artery thermometer is so gentle, in fact, that kids WANT to have their temperature taken...

Another normal reading! Whew!

Even though we have not been able to use the Exergen TemporalScanner for a fever, so far I am impressed and I definitely recommend giving it a try. This thermometer has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of less than $50, but I found it online starting at around $32 on Amazon with free shipping. It is also available through other major retailers such as Babies R Us, Toys R Us, Walmart, Walgreens, Costco and Sam's Club.

~*~One of my readers is going to win an Exergen TemporalScanner!~*~

Disclosure: All opinions are my own. I received the Exergen TemporalScanner at no cost for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received. A big Thank You to Exergen for providing the giveaway prize!