Notouch thermometers: simply business or an "eye diagnosis"?

Irina Mishina

On September 1, a non-contact thermometer showed: my child's temperature is 34 degrees. The child was admitted to school, and he safely stayed in class until 13.30. At home, a mercury thermometer showed a temperature of 36.5.

But there are even worse incidents. Outlandish stories with non-contact thermometers are described in social networks by many.

Victoria Lab: “I came to the clinic for a certificate for admission to work after a vacation. I'm sitting in line. In the mask. The corridor is not ventilated, it is hot and stuffy. A nurse approaches, measures the temperature with a non-contact thermometer: 37.3. Looks suspiciously. Measures on the bast, on the neck, on the other side of the neck, on the right wrist, on the left wrist. Hooray! The temperature on the left wrist is normal... They assessed the absence of coronavirus by eye and gave a certificate".

Marina Mari: “I came to the children's clinic with a child for a certificate, it's cool outside. At the entrance, the nurse measures the temperature of the child on the forehead, on the wrist, and on the back of the neck - everywhere Lo shows, that's all. That is, the child has no temperature at all. I rubbed my wrist, she measured 34.0 and calmly missed it. The help was given, asking "are you sure you are not sick?" and getting the answer "exactly, exactly".

Why is the temperature measured by a non-contact thermometer often so different from normal?

“Cheap, low-quality thermometers will certainly give an error. To begin with, they are not initially as accurate as mercury. In addition, the air temperature can affect the readings of a non-contact thermometer. If a person has entered a room after a long walk down the street, where it is cool, the non-contact thermometer will naturally show a low temperature. If a person entered the room after being in the heat, and even ran, the readings of a non-contact thermometer may be higher than their real temperature. It is theoretically possible to measure temperature with a non-contact thermometer anywhere: on the forehead, on the wrist, at the neck. If only it was not on the run and not immediately after a person enters the room. It is better to wait until the person stays in the room for some time and his temperature returns to normal. In general, I would not trust non-contact thermometers. All this is more for pro forma and reporting purposes. The temperature of a person who entered from the street is a very approximate indication, and certainly not a basis for making a diagnosis", - Maxim Rykov, the candidate of medical sciences, employee of the Department of Oncology of the Moscow Medical Academy Sechenov, told to NI.

Indeed, in schools it is recommended to measure the temperature on the wrist. But the wrist can be open, or it can be covered by a coat sleeve or jacket elastic. In these cases, the indicators will be different. In addition, the child could walk in the cold. He could also be driven in a car with the oven on. And this will again give an error in the result.

Some students are already sharing secrets on how to skip class. It's quite simple. You just have to rub your wrist or pull a warm woolen hat over your forehead and run before entering school.

“Is it correct to measure the temperature on the forehead and wrist? It is believed that these places show it better. If you rub them, they will turn red, and the temperature in these areas will indeed be noticeably higher”, - explains the surgeon of the Russian Scientific Center of Surgery named after V.I. Petrovsky Alik Kostoyev.

Despite all this, non-contact thermometers continue to appear everywhere. At the same time, the price for them is constantly growing. Today, a non-contact thermometer can be purchased at prices ranging from 3200 to 7,900 rubles. The supplies are mainly wholesale. But in reality, for preschool and educational institutions, judging by the reviews in social networks, non-contact thermometers are now much more expensive.

Yelena Sycheva: “For 9,000 rubles. they were purchased for our kindergarten. Another money laundering. And yes, I’d better not say anything about accuracy. Whatever he wanted, he measured it. "

Doctors are surprised: at the beginning of the year, the cost of non-contact thermometers did not exceed 2,000 rubles. But the business at the "contactless temperature" noticeably went up the hill. Medical worker Dalia Tarian is outraged: “For 9 thousand rubles?!?! Our patient took away the thermometer, they wanted to buy the same. So from the price of January this year at 1,900 rubles. the growth went up to 17,500 in June of the same year".

Petrenko Vyacheslav : “All this is the usual window dressing and eyewash. It is done for the report. There is no sense, except for sawing the dough".

The question arises: why is the temperature measured only at the entrance to kindergartens, educational institutions and at the entrance to work? Why isn't it measured, for example, in shopping malls or restaurants?

“There are also non-contact thermometers there. It's just that everyone understands that there is no point in measuring the temperature of everyone. What to do, for example, with a shopping center visitor who has a high temperature? Call him an ambulance? Nobody will do this! In addition, there are a lot of asymptomatic carriers of coronavirus, who have a normal temperature, ”explains the candidate of medical sciences Maxim Rykov.

Most likely, non-contact thermometers will become our companions in the near future. And if it is impossible to refuse them, it is necessary to find a way how to use them with maximum benefit - at least so that the temperature they show differs from the temperature of the deceased in the morgue or from the indications of a patient with fever.

“We have this experience: measure the temperature no earlier than half an hour after a person has entered from the street, directing the laser directly to the forehead, where the bangs do not cover the skin. At the same time, it is better to keep a distance of 2-3 cm. If you do not follow the recommendations, you can measure the temperature from 34 to 38 degrees”, - advises Maksim Rykov, candidate of medical sciences .

Well, and most importantly: a person who feels bad will probably measure the temperature of the house with a mercury thermometer and will not go to study or work. Why, then, are mercury thermometers? - you ask. I think the answer is clear: first, reporting. And secondly, it's just a business, and nothing to do with medicine.