THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 23, 1996 TAG: 9601230049
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATRICIA ANSTETT, Knight-Ridder News Service
LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
PARENTS have a new way to take an infant's or toddler's temperature: a pacifier thermometer.
Approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration, it's accurate within 0.2 degree, says Randall Krafft, chief executive officer of Questech International Inc., manufacturer of the Wee Care Digital Pacifier Thermometer.
It costs about $16. Ear thermometers, by comparison, may run $100-$150 and can give inaccurate readings if used incorrectly or if the child has an ear infection.
The battery-operated pacifier thermometer takes about five minutes to produce a reliable reading, Krafft said. The heat-sensing device inside the nipple takes the temperature. A beep confirms that it's working; a longer beep indicates it's ready. The digital reading appears on the front.
FDA approval to market the device as a thermometer came in December, Krafft said. To be sold as a thermometer, a device must be proven accurate within 0.2 degree; instruments less accurate must be called temperature indicators, he said.
Dr. Charles Barone, associate chairman of pediatrics at Henry Ford Health System, said the devices are so new that many doctors haven't used them yet.
Most importantly, parents need to understand that symptoms that precede or coincide with fever, such as a runny nose, are better indicators of an illness than a high temperature itself, Barone said.
The Wee Care Digital Pacifier Thermometer is available at Target, Revco, Wal-Mart and Walgreen, among other outlets. For more information on the product, call (800) 966-5367 anytime. by CNB