topic Taking Temperature in Community Chat

Taking Temperature

Anonymous032819 — Thu, 21 May 2020 18:31:06 GMT

A lot of places are implementing the requirement of taking a person's temperature before a service is done.

Is this providing a false sense of security?

The reason that I ask that is because one can have the virus, and not have an elevated temperature.

Just because someone registers 98.6 on the thermometer, doesn't mean that they don't have the virus.

So, is the act of scanning someone's forehead, just to make us feel better, "Covid theater", if you will?

I'm all for wearing masks and not touching each other, but taking temperature?

I'm admittedly on the fence about.

Discuss.

Re: Taking Temperature

Peaches McPhee — Thu, 21 May 2020 18:32:36 GMT

I agree that it is not 100%, but it is better than nothing, I guess.

Re: Taking Temperature

suzyQ3 — Thu, 21 May 2020 18:34:55 GMT

@Anonymous032819 wrote:
A lot of places are implementing the requirement of taking a person's temperature before a service is done.

Is this providing a false sense of security?

The reason that I ask that is because one can have the virus, and not have an elevated temperature.

Just because someone registers 98.6 on the thermometer, doesn't mean that they don't have the virus.

So, is the act of scanning someone's forehead, just to make us feel better, "Covid theater", if you will?

I'm all for wearing masks and not touching each other, but taking temperature?

I'm admittedly on the fence about.

Discuss.

I'm on the fence about it, too. I think other steps are much more effective. But it's easy, so I guess what the hail.

Re: Taking Temperature

Kitlynn — Thu, 21 May 2020 18:38:59 GMT

At the two places I have had my temperature taken have been the type they just point at your forehead and it digitally takes it. I think the theory is that when there is some sort of virus like the flu, cold or anything else people are more contagious if they have a fever so they are using it as a precaution.

Re: Taking Temperature

Meowingkitty — Thu, 21 May 2020 18:45:20 GMT

What has been known to happen here in Arizona is if someone has been sitting in their car they might not have the ac on if it's only for a couple of minutes. They then get called in and after walking in the sun to the building they get their temperature is taken and it could be near 100. Then after sitting in the ac for a few minutes it comes back down to normal.

Re: Taking Temperature

Vivian — Thu, 21 May 2020 18:45:38 GMT

I had pneumonia last summer. I went to my family doctor and to an infectious disease specialist. Not once did I have a fever yet my x-rays told a different story. Sure, if one has a fever that can indicate an infection, but not having a fever means nothing,

Re: Taking Temperature

Janey2 — Thu, 21 May 2020 18:46:12 GMT

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine it is possible to be infected with no fever, especially in the first few days

Re: Taking Temperature

millieshops — Thu, 21 May 2020 18:46:15 GMT

Apart from staying totally isolated I don’t believe there’s any one thing that guarantees safety, but I haven’t seen anything saying it’s harmful. Nor do I think it’s an invasion of privacy.

I’m favoring lots of potential signs and barriers - would like to think the country isn’t going to solve its overpopulation by killling off another 100000 corona victims.

Re: Taking Temperature

Marp — Thu, 21 May 2020 18:46:18 GMT

@Kitlynn wrote:
At the two places I have had my temperature taken have been the type they just point at your forehead and it digitally takes it. I think the theory is that when there is some sort of virus like the flu, cold or anything else people are more contagious if they have a fever so they are using it as a precaution.

That may or may not be true for other diseases but one of the biggest problems with defeating CV19 is that many that test positive do not exhibit any symptoms and fever is a symptom.

Even among those that do exhibit symptoms it is believed they are highly contagious days before symptoms appear.

Temperature taking may prevent anyone with a fever from entering a premises but it in no way assures that someone with a "normal" temperature that is allowed in is not a carrier.

Re: Taking Temperature

QueenDanceALot — Thu, 21 May 2020 18:54:48 GMT

It screens some infected people but not everyone. There is nothing that would. Anyone I know in the healthcare field has their temperature taken each day before they enter the building where they work.

Outside of taking a test each time, one that would give an accurate instant result (and I don't think the instant result tests have a good track record), I don't know what would be better.

Bottom line at this point. We should all assume we are carriers so wear masks and distance ourselves.

Re: Taking Temperature

Mindy D — Thu, 21 May 2020 19:04:01 GMT

@Anonymous032819 wrote:
A lot of places are implementing the requirement of taking a person's temperature before a service is done.

Is this providing a false sense of security?

The reason that I ask that is because one can have the virus, and not have an elevated temperature.

Just because someone registers 98.6 on the thermometer, doesn't mean that they don't have the virus.

So, is the act of scanning someone's forehead, just to make us feel better, "Covid theater", if you will?

I'm all for wearing masks and not touching each other, but taking temperature?

I'm admittedly on the fence about.

Discuss.

@Anonymous032819 @This process helps to eliminate those showing possible symptoms from entering the premises. It can cut down on the number of contagious individuals present. It won't stop those that are presymptomatic, asymptomatic or symptomatic without a temperature. It could also indicate a fever from some cause other than COVID-19.It is not meant to be a 100% accurate preventative. It's part of a group of strategies that together help eliminate risk. If it proves to give some a false sense of security than the fault lies with inadequate education about this measure, not with the measure itself. I am very supportive of this strategy. Persons displaying a temperature should go home, retake their temperature and if they have a temperature, stay home. One problem with it is that different places use different temperature readings as their indication of fever.

Re: Taking Temperature

CrazyDaisy — Thu, 21 May 2020 19:04:45 GMT

A person can have a fever for a whole host of things that have nothing to do with this virus.

Re: Taking Temperature

Porcelain — Thu, 21 May 2020 19:12:25 GMT

It's a good way to identify workers who are going to work sick. It happens a lot, especially in part time and hourly jobs where they really can't take time off to stay home and be sick. HR or management can stop them at the door and send them home.

It's useful. If someone considers a normal temp as a reason to be falsely confident, well they are probably like that all the time anyway. I would wonder what would happen if someone were tested mid hot flash, though. The reaction and recognition might depend on whether the temp monitoring person were a middle aged or older woman or not.

Re: Taking Temperature

CrazyDaisy — Thu, 21 May 2020 19:16:26 GMT

@Porcelain wrote:
It's a good way to identify workers who are going to work sick. It happens a lot, especially in part time and hourly jobs where they really can't take time off to stay home and be sick. HR or management can stop them at the door and send them home.

It's useful. If someone considers a normal temp as a reason to be falsely confident, well they are probably like that all the time anyway. I would wonder what would happen if someone were tested mid hot flash, though. The reaction and recognition might depend on whether the temp monitoring person were a middle aged or older woman or not.

A bacterial infection such as a UTI can cause a fever, should a person be sent home for that?

Re: Taking Temperature

GenXmuse — Thu, 21 May 2020 19:17:09 GMT

Yes.

Re: Taking Temperature

RedTop — Thu, 21 May 2020 19:19:12 GMT

I have no faith whatsoever in temperature scans.

Last May I took my husband of 45 years to the ER in visible distress. I knew he was running a high fever by the way he looked and acted. I got the side eye roll from the ER nurse when she scanned his forehead and got a reading below normal. I told her the reading was inaccurate, as my husband takes high doses of 3 meds with analgesic effects every day, and he had already had 2 doses of meds by that time of day. His blood work told the real story, and most likely he walked in with a temperature of 103. He remembers none of the hours in ER; only the time spent in the bed upstairs.

Re: Taking Temperature

germanshepherdlove — Thu, 21 May 2020 19:26:36 GMT

Mr Urban, the man who owns a football team, was interviewed last night on one of the talking head shows and he said that taking 3 extra strength tylenol before a scan test shows no fever at all. This came up when the host asked him if taking a temperature of all the guests at a game would be beneficial and that was his answer

Re: Taking Temperature

QueenDanceALot — Thu, 21 May 2020 19:26:47 GMT

No, it's not foolproof.

If anyone has better screening tools, please tell what they would be.

Re: Taking Temperature

Porcelain — Thu, 21 May 2020 19:31:03 GMT

@CrazyDaisy wrote:
@Porcelain wrote:
It's a good way to identify workers who are going to work sick. It happens a lot, especially in part time and hourly jobs where they really can't take time off to stay home and be sick. HR or management can stop them at the door and send them home.

It's useful. If someone considers a normal temp as a reason to be falsely confident, well they are probably like that all the time anyway. I would wonder what would happen if someone were tested mid hot flash, though. The reaction and recognition might depend on whether the temp monitoring person were a middle aged or older woman or not.
A bacterial infection such as a UTI can cause a fever, should a person be sent home for that?

They should be sent to a doctor and get on antibiotics before the UTI gets worse and goes systemic or shuts down their kidneys. They should be resting.

If anyone has a fever anywhere near COVID territory, they are too sick to be at work -- or out playing at a bar.

Re: Taking Temperature

RetRN — Thu, 21 May 2020 19:40:04 GMT

@germanshepherdlove wrote:
Mr Urban, the man who owns a football team, was interviewed last night on one of the talking head shows and he said that taking 3 extra strength tylenol before a scan test shows no fever at all. This came up when the host asked him if taking a temperature of all the guests at a game would be beneficial and that was his answer

Exactly. I don't care if they take my temp or not, but I know people will find a way to alter things. This is nothing new.