Review – Braun ThermoScan 5 IRT4520
When you have a small child, it’s pretty easy to tell when they have a temperature, isn’t it?
Well, actually… yes and no. It’s easy to tell when they’re running a HIGH temperature (but just how high is it? And is it still climbing?), but what about the days when they’re just cranky and clingy and you don’t know whyyyyy?
Well – problem now solved, thanks to those clever people at Braun. The latest Thermoscan model is just a small piece of reassurance, waiting quietly in your cabinet for the day you need it.
With it, you can take a child’s temperature in a couple of seconds, know the result is accurate and reassure yourself accordingly. A small temp? Nothing to worry about, but at least now you know WHY they’re cranky. High temp? Now you know how high. you can tell if the paracetamol is working, and how it compares to the temp of an hour ago (it remembers the last 8 recordings which is a great feature). It’s also handy to know what your child’s ‘resting’ temperature is normally – my third son was naturally hot anyway, so if he ran around a bit he felt like he was cooking – he was sent home from nursery twice with ‘a temperature’ – simply the result of an over-exciting running game.
Strangely, a couple of weeks after Braun sent me the Thermoscan to review my daughter was very unwell (I think they banjanxed on her purpose, to be honest). Checking both ears with the Thermoscan had alerted me to the fact that one was much hotter than the other – telling me it was quite possibly an ear infection. So quicker than I probably would have done I whisked her off to the GP; who pulled a Thermoscan out of her drawer to use! I told her I was currently reviewing one and she told me she’d used one for a number of years, as do most of her colleagues.
And yes, it was an ear infection. Clever me.
Using it couldn’t be simpler – turn it on, pop it in the ear, gently pull back the ear lobe and press the button until you hear the beep – usually a few seconds.
And if it’s good enough for my lovely GP, it’s good enough for me!
Here’s the tech blurb:Why measuring in the ear?The ear is an excellent site to measure temperature. Braun ThermoScan measures the infrared heat generated by the eardrum and the surrounding tissues. The eardrum shares blood supply with the temperature control center in the brain. Therefore temperature changes are reflected more quickly and accurately than at other sites.Unlike other ear thermometers, Braun ThermoScan features a pre-warmed tip that minimizes the cooling effect that could result from the introduction of a cool probe tip. The pre-warmed tip helps ensure accuracy measurement after measurement.
We found the best price currently for the Braun Thermoscan was on Amazon – just under £30 currently. And we’d totally recommend one as a medicine cupboard staple for any family.
