Add them to your home first-aid kit, stat.
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You wake up in the middle of the night with body aches and chills even though you're buried under blankets, and have a forehead that's hot to the touch. All signs point to a fever, but before you start drafting that out-of-work sick email to send to your boss in the morning, it's time to verify your suspicions by taking your temperature with one of the most valuable tools in your bathroom first-aid kit—your trusty thermometer.
"Thermometers are a good tool to help assess health," says Amber Brown Keebler, MD, a physician at Nebraska Medicine. "Infections that are potentially serious are usually associated with fever." That's why it's a good idea to keep a regular eye on your body temperature.
The average body temperature is 98.6 degrees, but normal body temperature can range anywhere between 97 and 99 degrees, according to the Mayo Clinic. "A fever is defined as a body temperature greater than 100.4 degrees," explains Brown Keebler. "Body temperature is a physical sign of the body's inflammatory response, usually to infection."
If a fever lasts longer than 24-48 hours, Brown Keebler recommends reaching out to your primary care physician, so it's a good idea to keep taking your temperature regularly when you're filling sick and feverish. But, with all the thermometers on the market these days, how do you go about picking out the best, most accurate one? In general, Brown Keebler simply recommends getting a thermometer that is easy to use and easy to read the result.
For example, if taking a temperature orally doesn't seem like it will work out (i.e. if you have small children), getting a no-touch forehead thermometer or ear thermometer works, too. See below for the best thermometers in 2023.
Pros
No contact need to take reading - Fast and quiet
Cons
- Needs batteries
For those interested in maintaining social distance while getting or giving a temperature read, this thermometer has your back (or, uh, forehead). It'll take your temp in less than a second with no physical contact.
The extra sleek design includes a large LED display, making it easily readable, and the noiseless vibrating alert is way better than a loud beep sound some other thermometers make.
2
Best Ear Thermometer
Braun ThermoScan 7 Thermometer
Pros
- Suitable for all ages
- Color-coded display
- Includes disposable filters
Cons
- Requires you to manually input age and then wait for it to boot up
Measuring the heat generated by your eardrum and the surrounding tissue, a digital ear thermometer can quickly detect fluctuations in your core body temperature.
This model from Braun alerts you when you do have a fever and includes disposable covers so that your family can share the thermometer love, sans the germs.
Pros
- Connects to an app
- No-contact
Cons
- Needs batteries
- Can give a skewed reading if you have an AC on or just worked out, per reviewers
The last thing you need when you're sick is the effort of trying to manually track all your symptoms and body temp fluctuations. That's where a smart thermometer comes in handy.
This model from Kinsa works as a no-contact forehead therm. It syncs to an app that allows you to instantly monitor whether your fever is going up or down. On it, you can also easily input other symptoms or even keep track of what medications you're taking.
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Pros
- Monitors temperature fluctuations in readings
- No-contact
Cons
- It can get wonky, but issues should resolve after a restart
If you haven't caught on yet, the forehead thermometer is a necessary staple in every household. (Welcome to life post-2020.)
Using infrared tech to offer a quick and accurate reading without physical contact, it'll also store your last 10 temperature readings and alerts you when you're running a fever.
Pros
- Affordable
- Available in different colors
Cons
- Requires contact
- Battery may be harder to find (1.55v DC button battery)
If you're one of those lucky people who never seem to get sick, and you just need a thermometer to keep on-hand in your first-aid kit, consider the job done with this one. At under $10, it's perfectly compact and easy to use.
Pros
- Fast reading in just 10 seconds
- Flexible tip for oral, rectal, or under-the-arm readings
Cons
- Doesn't include other features, like app synchronization
The classic oral thermometer has been part of at-home first aid kits for generations, and with reason—it works! Flexible, easy to clean, and delivering results in just twenty seconds max, this model from Enji is ticks all the boxes without any fancy extras.
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Pros
- Includes a carrying case
- No-contact
- Vibrates when reading is ready
Cons
- Requires batteries
- Inaccurate readings if the tip is too cold due to environment (like a place with the AC on full blast)
You never know when you or a loved one is going to catch something, and unfortunately, stomach bugs and all the accompanying symptoms (like fevers) don't really care if you're on vacation or not.
This infrared thermometer comes with a plastic carrying case, so it's easy to toss in your bag for your next trip, where *fingers crossed* you won't ever have to use it.
Pros
- Temperature readings to 1/100th degree.
- Very affordable (less than $10)
Cons
- Doesn't automatically synchronize to an ovulation app
If you're using an app to track your ovulation, you know that getting a super accurate body temperature reading is more important than ever. This basal body thermometer will deliver just that.
Measuring your temperature up to two decimal points, this thermometer is handy if you're trying to get pregnant
