Nurses are on the frontline of patient care and it’s always been the mission of Exergen – creators of the Exergen Temporal Scanner – to support their work and help make their jobs easier and more effective. More than a billion temperatures are taken a year and every nurse needs the best temporal thermometer they can rely on to get the most accurate, quickest and convenient reading – every single time.
North America is continuing to see the effects of an intensive and dangerous flu season. The main culprit is the H3N2 virus, which is deadlier than the swine flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this year’s flu season has seen more outbreaks in more regions of the country than have been reported in the last seven years. As might be expected, the main demographic affected are children (five to nine years old) and adults over the age of 80. Since October 2017, the CDC reports that 84 children have been reported dead from the flu and that number is rising.
Recently, the CDC published a study in Pediatrics showing children’s vulnerability to the flu in the United States. CDC reports, “The study, titled ‘Influenza-Associated Pediatric Deaths in the United States, 2010-2016,’ analyzed reported flu-related deaths in children younger than 18 over the course of six flu seasons, from October 2010 through September 2016. Results show that half of all flu-related deaths occurred in otherwise healthy children, 22 percent of whom were fully vaccinated.”
The Difference Between a Cold and the Flu
This study, solid nursing training and good common-sense show that it is crucial at this time of year to recognize the symptoms of influenza. The primary indicator that differentiates a cold from the flu is a fever – and the only way to determine that is with an accurate temporal artery thermometer.
Parents can’t always tell the difference between the cold and the flu.Even a cold can cause a slight fever. For this reason, it’s important that nurses become advocates and educators for parents at home. Education is a crucial part of patient outcomes. After leaving the hospital or doctor’s office, knowing how to accurately measure body temperature is essential. This is due to the presence of a fever might mean further investigation or immediate treatment.
School Children are Vulnerable
School children are also vulnerable to catching germs from others who may be sick. It’s important to counsel parents on the importance of monitoring colds and fevers. In the worst case, the flu, when children come home from school.
Nurses know that concerns about children and fever extend far beyond flu season. No vital sign is as important to monitor as body temperature. This is when it comes to determining the cause of a patient’s condition or illness. Some diseases cause the body to become warmer than normal and some cause it to be cooler. Other times, the patient’s body temperature will stay normal. For each of these scenarios, determining body temperature is a crucial first step when diagnosing a patient’s health or condition.
The Exergen Temporal Scanner is currently operational in most hospitals across the U.S. It has a design by nurses for nurses. The company’s Temporal Scanner is the number one preferred forehead scan thermometer by both nurses and pediatricians and is backed by more than 70 clinical studies proving its accuracy across all ages from preterm infants and babies to adults and geriatric patients.
Professional Model and Consumer Model
Exergen markets two models of the Exergen Temporal Scanner. There is the professional version you find in doctor’s offices, and a consumer model you will find in major retailers nationwide. The Temporal Scanner professional model, is a thermometer used by hospitals (more than 4,000 hospitals), tens of thousands of clinics, office-based practices, and nursing homes. And, more than 70 peer-reviewed published studies attest to the accuracy of our forehead scan thermometer.
The vast majority of hospitals have approved the use of a disinfectant wipe of the TemporalScanner’s probe head. This makes its disposable probe covers optional. Our temporal thermometers offer a 90 percent cost savings over other thermometers. These others require disposable probe covers. If you prefer disposable covers, they are available.
For isolation patients, a film sheath is available that encases the entire thermometer. The Exergen TemporalScanner’s lifetime warranty is unique to thermometry. It protects the entire instrument, and eliminates spare parts storage, biomedical engineering labor and any repair charges.