Instantaneous + Highly Accurate = Too Good to be True
Written: Mar 30 '06 (Updated Mar 30 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: None. We returned it because it failed to meet our expectations. It cannot be trusted.
Cons: Inaccurate, varied readings, very expensive.
The Bottom Line: It's too good to be true. We *really* wanted it to work but have lost all hope and cannot trust it. Even our doctor's office got varied results using it.
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| gsx1300r's Full Review: Exergen Temporal Scanner Infrared Thermometer |
Our 19 month old son has been sick for a few days and has been running fevers throughout the day and night that have reached 105 degrees. We’ve taken his temperature so often at this point that our son lets us take his temperature rectally without putting up too much of a fuss - but the real problem has been taking his temperature throughout the night while he's asleep. After we get him to sleep, it's very frustrating to accidentally awaken him while we try to take his temperature.
We noticed our doctor using a temporal thermometer and we thought it looked like a really good idea for us at home. Our doctor told us that the consumer model was, in his opinion, reliable. $50 seemed like nothing in comparison to all the lost sleep (for our son and for us!).
I read with enthusiasm my fellow epinioners' opinions and high marks for this thermometer and I could hardly wait to run to the drugstore after work today to buy one for us to have. I understood that like anything new this would probably take some practice, but at this point we were ready to give it at try.
Right out of the box, the thermometer appeared solidly made. Contrary to some of the other opinions, I thought the thermometer felt well made and the button felt solid. I did not find it flimsy feeling and the thermometer felt as though it was durable enough for normal household use, although as with any precision instrument, I would avoid dropping it, if possible.
The scanner was packaged nicely, the instructions were clearly and concisely written, and I had no doubt it was working and that we are using it properly. It requires a 9v battery, and they included one (Energizer).
After a lot of practice, we finally *thought* we were getting accurate readings on ourselves and on our son - until we took our son's temperature rectally and compared the results. We used two different 1st alert digital rectal thermometers, each of which provided the EXACT same reading as the other when used back to back. The temporal scanner was consistently off by 3 degrees or more. We were getting readings of 102.1 on both rectal thermometers and readings around 98/99 on the temporal. The instructions for the temporal scanner say that readings should not be taken within 30 seconds of each other, so we waited between attempts - but that did not help.
The temporal scanner's results vary plus or minus .5 degree each time while the rectals have been consistently plus or minus .1 degree for consecutive readings (but consistently the same reading as each other).
I called the company (no toll free number) and left a message for them (after hours) asking them to please call me to see if they could "walk me through" using their product before I returned it to the drugstore.
The next day, a pleasant person called back to go through all the "usual" issues (not waiting 30 seconds between scans, removing the cover from the probe, cleaning the probe, etc.), none of which were our problem. I explained to him that we were never able to get their scanner to register a temperature higher than 99.x - even when our son was getting readings close to 104 last night on the rectal thermometer.
After exhausting possible causes, he suggested I take it back to the drugstore for an exchange. I told him that my wife and I were actually taking our son to the pediatrician later that afternoon and we'd ask the doctor to show us the proper technique (in case our technique was wrong) and to compare the results of our scanner versus his "professional" version of the same scanner.
I had already lost confidence in the scanner, but the company rep was so sure that either we were doing it wrong or that our unit was defective, that I agreed to exchange it for another if our doctor says we're using it correctly and was also unable to get accurate results from it.
Later that day, while at the office awaiting the doctor, I asked the nurse-practitioner her advice and whether she could show us how to properly use the scanner. She found the position of the probe uncomfortable (compared to their model) and had a hard time getting it to scan, but when she got it to scan, her results were not accurate either (this time we compared the results to that of her model). 99.9 on her scanner and 99.1 on ours. She tried several times and told us to get rid of the scanner and save our $50. (She recommended the in-the-ear type of thermometer).
The doctor, who also found the position of the probe to be uncomfortable, (after several tries) finally got a reading much closer to our son’s actual temperature (99.5) and thought that we probably just needed more practice and that the scanner was probably working properly - he recommended keeping it.
Based on watching the nurse and the doctor, we were using the scanner correctly. We've lost confidence and at this point there is no way we would ever be able to trust the accuracy of the scanner. We decided not to even try another unit - we took the nurse's advice and returned the scanner for our money back. We're going to stick to the always-faithful rectal thermometer.
If you have questions, feel free to email me.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
gsx1300r
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: pete weinman
Location: Staten Island, NY
Reviews written: 61
Trusted by: 9 members
About Me:
Husband, Daddy, NYC Marathon Runner, and motorcycle rider. You can trust me, I'm a lawyer.
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