Health App: The iPhone Can Take Your Temperature
The average person’s temperature is about 98 degrees Fahrenheit or 37 degrees Celsius. Of course, people’s temperatures can go up a lot when they are sick.
You need to pay careful attention to your temperature if you are not feeling well. If you notice it is spiking, then it might be time to get more serious treatment or even see the emergency room.
Unfortunately, we don’t all have thermometers on hand. Some of the older thermometers don’t work as well anymore, because the materials that used to be used to make them are no longer readily available. Old mercury thermometers were very dangerous, so it is a good thing they have been taken off the market.
But how can you take your temperature, instead? The good news is that your smartphone might be able to be used to take it. This is one of the biggest advances in Telemedicine. You can even store data on your temperature online, so that you can track changes and even share it with your doctor if necessary. This will make it much easier to get reliable treatment.
Using Your Smartphone to Take Your Temperature
The iPhone is a pretty amazing device. It seems like it can do almost everything. From treating amblyopia ? lazy eye ? to serving as digital health concierge, this handheld device, with its ability to tackle so many aspects of health, seems to be the true definition of a smartphone.
Now add the thermometer to the list of useful purposes the iPhone serves. You can take your own temperature or someone else’s right from the iPhone using the Kinsa Smart Thermometer. The device simply connects to the iPhone headphone jack. The app will display the patient’s temperature almost immediately on the screen.
What makes it even more advanced is that it can provide treatment advice and other information on what to watch for if the symptom gets worse. The app can even call your doctor and book an appointment at a local medical facility with the touch of a button. It will also allow users to create profiles and keep records of their temperature so they can closely monitor their health over time.
It is pretty amazing that just 10 years ago, a device like the iPhone seemed like something out of a faraway future. Now the capabilities are endless and the advances it is providing in healthcare are truly remarkable.
If You Don’t Have An iPhone, Think About Digital Thermometers
Alternatively, digital thermometers are becoming more and more common.
This has been especially spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic, as large numbers of people now need to be screened quickly and from a safe distance. The handheld infrared thermometer from The Kare Lab is accurate from up to 15cm away, stores up to 32 readings (useful when tracking an individual’s temperature), works quickly (displaying the temperature after one second) and doesn’t cause any discomfort to the subject compared to tympanic or oral measurements.
Research has shown that when used correctly, infrared or thermal thermometers are extremely effective ways to measure body temperaturewhile avoiding physical contact.
