Underarm temperature measurement

General Information and Facts

There are a few ways by which one can measure a body temperature. A thermometer can be placed on the forehead, in the mouth, in the anus (in small children), or under the armpit. In this article we will present you temperature measurement under arm.

Underarm Temperature

Thermometer is an inevitable part of our medicine cupboard and we are familiar with it from our early age. There are several methods by which a thermometer may be used and they include oral, rectal and underarm method. All of these methods are used, but, underarm is the most common one, even though the rectal one gives the most precise temperature. Now, let us see what normal temperature in humans is. It is 98.6 °F or 37.0 °C and everything that is one or two degrees above that is considered as high temperature.

There are electric thermometers and oral thermometers at the market. Even though every type of thermometers can be used for measurement, the electric one is the most suitable. In order to measure your temperature, you have to put it under your arm and cover it with the arm, but before you have to make sure that the initial temperature is below 95 °F.

Because of the fact that the underarm auxiliary temperature is the most similar with the body temperature, this method is used so frequently. This underarm temperature is considered to be auxiliary and its temperature may vary for half or one degree. If your temperature is normal, underarm temperature will be around 97.6 °F to 98.1°F or 36.4 - 36.7 °C.

Subjects were healthy young men and women (n?=?76 and n?=?65, respectively). Three measurements were obtained: (1) axillary temperature using a digital thermometer in a predictive mode requiring 10 s (T ax-10 s), (2) axillary temperature using a digital thermometer in a standard mode requiring 10 min (T ax-10 min), and (3) tympanic membrane temperature continuously measured by infrared thermometry (T ty). The subjects answered questions about eating and exercise habits, sleep and menstrual cycles, and thermoregulation and reported what they believed their regular body temperature to be (T reg).

Reports indicate that axillary temperature, although measured at the body surface, correlates well with the core temperature.
The correlation coefficient (r) for the correlation between T ty and T ax-10 s was lower than that for the correlation between T ty and T ax-10 min.
It seems to be accepted that “normal body temperature” is around 37.0 °C on average, although a range around this value (36.2 to 37.5 °C) is considered within normal limits. However, in the present study, the averaged values estimated by axillary temperature measurements using a digital thermometer were lower than the accepted normal value (i.e., 36.2 °C on average).
Subjects with a T ax-10 s below the median tended to have a lower body mass index (28% underweight, 0% overweight) compared to those whose T ax-10 s was above the median (14% underweight, 78% normal weight, 8% overweight).
Twenty subjects (14% of the total subjects) reported a T reg below 36.0 °C. Eight of these subjects had a T ax-10 s of
We found a lower T ax-10 s that was associated with lower body mass indices in male and female subjects and with irregular menstrual cycles. Because we did not assess physiological parameters such as metabolism, skin temperature, and skin blood flow, which may influence axillary temperature, the reasons for the observed interindividual variation remain unclear.

Modern devices for measuring axillary temperature may have changed the range of body temperature that is recognized as normal. Core body temperature variations estimated by tympanic measurements were smaller than those estimated by axillary measurements. This variation of axillary temperature may be due to changes in the measurement methods introduced by modern devices and techniques. However, axillary temperature values correlated well with those of tympanic measurements, suggesting that the technique may reliably report an individual’s state of health.

✓ Fact confirmed: Assessment of axillary temperature for the evaluation of normal body temperature of healthy young adults at rest in a thermoneutral environment Shuri Marui, Ayaka Misawa, Yuki Tanaka, and Kei Nagashima; 2017 Feb 22.

Having in mind these facts, you can conclude that body temperature may depend upon the place where it is measured. As we have said, the rectal one will provide you with the most accurate temperature, then the oral one follows and finally underarm temperature.

But, underarm temperature is mostly used if we are dealing with adults or older children. This method is not recommended for babies and in that case, the rectal one will be the most suitable. That is because it is a bit of risky to measure temperature in a baby with the underarm method. If your temperature, once you have measured it, is more than 100.4° Fahrenheit, then it is considered that you have a fever. So, if you see that your temperature is around the fever limit, you should visit your doctor so that he could diagnose the cause of your temperature.