What are the odds? Every person in line had body temps 4 degrees below normal.

[BamaRefugee]

I had to serve a summons today at a subacute residential nursing facility in Pasadena California. There was a line at the entry door because you had to sign in and state whether you’d been out of the country lately and a few other questions and then have your temperature taken. There were three people ahead of me. The first one was told her body temperature was 94.6. The second one was told that her body temperature was 95.1. The third, who I later found out was one of the principals in the ownership of the nursing home, supposedly showed a body temperature of 94.5. I was told that my body temperature was 94.2.
I told them I thought it was strange that every single person had a much lower than normal body temperature and that maybe they should re-calibrate their digital thermometer. They just shrugged and said we’re just doing what we were told.
So what are the odds that every single person,including me, is walking around with low temperatures? Unless, it’s a good thing for the nursing home to be reporting that absolutely no one entering the facility has a fever. Probably keeps the health department away.

By the way I was serving a summons for wrongful death on the facility. Things that make you go hmmmm.

[Turin_C3PO]

1. Very unlikely

the temps were accurate. Those are pretty low readings, I’d be surprised if even one of you was that low.

[marble falls]

2. VA recently dropped normal from 98.6 to 97.6. Even so, those were low, was it cold outside ...

did everyone have an iced drink?

[Lochloosa]

15. I'm a 97er. If I get to 99 I have a fever.

[Dem2theMax]

31. Same here. 97.5 or 97.6 is the norm for me.

Right now I'm at 100.3
That's not good.

[BComplex]

38. Holy crap, Dem2theMax! No! That's not good!

Do you have symptoms?

[Dem2theMax]

43. Yes. Started with a runny, stuffy nose two weeks ago.

Thought it was allergies. Then I started getting tightness in my chest, started coughing the last three days, fever for the last four days. Probably had a fever sooner, but I didn't even think to check it. (Because my temperature is always low!) I have the most horrible chills, and then I get really hot, and that's been happening for two weeks.

I started self isolating immediately, on the off chance I might have the Coronavirus. I was really thinking it was an upper respiratory infection that I get a few times a year. I have to take Enbrel for arthritis, and it really wrecks your immune system. So it never really dawned on me that it was anything other than this upper respiratory infection caused by the Enbrel.

I finally gave in and called my doctor today, and at the time I called her, my temperature was only 99.8, and my cough wasn't as bad. It never fails, as soon as 6 p.m. rolled around and my doctor is no longer at work, temperature went up to 100.3, which is the magic number they are looking for, and my cough got worse.

Doctors office told me to call if the temperature went up to 100.3 and the cough got worse. So tomorrow I will call Urgent Care and see what they say. I am without a car at the moment. So even if they say there's a test available for me, there is no way for me to get to the test.

I live in an over 55 community, and the average age is somewhere in the 75 to 90 range. I will be 64 this year, so I'm one of the youngsters. I don't dare ask anyone to drive me while I'm in this condition. So if I don't get better, I will be calling an ambulance. Unless they figure out a way to get the tests to those of us who don't have any way to get to them. What a mess! And I live alone. So I have to do it all myself.

I know this was a bit of a long reply. Thought it would help to share my symptoms in case anyone else is starting to feel the same way. Again, I do not know if this is definitely Coronavirus. But I never have a fever. So this is really weird.

Good news. Just took my temperature and it came down for the first time in three days. It's 99.7. That is the lowest it has been. Maybe I am taking a turn for the better!

Bad news. Either a skunk is under my house, or something crawled under there and died. I cannot use my second bathroom because it smells so bad in there! This just happened in the past few hours. I kept smelling something and couldn't figure out what it was. I live out in the middle the food chain, and doggone it if a skunk got under my house. AAAARRRRRGGGG!

Why do these things always happen to me?

[katmondoo]

52. Me too. 97.7 is normal for me.

[Progressive Jones]

36. 99 is my normal. nt

[tblue37]

51. 97er: Same here. nt

[mahina]

3. Mine is usually 96.4 ish

Even I don’t get down to 94

[Turin_C3PO]

6. Mine's low too.

Usually 96-97.

[mahina]

7. How about that

Wierd metabolism, mate

[marble falls]

16. My wife and I are always 97.6. We don't feel special anymore!

[BComplex]

39. People from Marble Falls are special.

Never doubt that! Nice area. I used to live in Bee Cave when I went to UT.

[Generic Brad]

4. Mine is running low

I was 96.5 yesterday and thought that was really odd too.

[marlakay]

5. Mine was 96.8 last night

I googled and found out as you get older your normal temp goes down a bit and i always have had a low normal. So if older people were in line maybe but i read under 95 starts to be hyperthermia.

[Tipperary]

29. Hyperthermia is too WARM.

[marlakay]

37. Lol must have typed it wrong...nt

[BamaRefugee]

8. It was cold and pouring rain today. We had just walked in, and they took temps off of our foreheads.

Would that factor in?

Seems weird.

[Hav]

11. From the forehead after coming in from the rain?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you cannot compare that to the average temperature taken from a part inside the body.

[caraher]

34. Yes

Evaporative cooling.

Those are all bogus readings

[Journeyman]

9. Lot a cold blooded people in Pasadena this afternoon . . .

Usually only see them in Hollywood or down near Pershing Square.

[BamaRefugee]

12. Hahahahahaha. Truth!

[BGBD]

10. I'm usually pretty low

in the morning, 96.x, but 94 for someone up and moving around is highly unlikely and four people in a row is astronomically low. That is unless all four of you had advanced sepsis.

[BamaRefugee]

14. I had only walked 15 feet from a very warm truck to the door. With a hoodie on.

I think the thermometer was calibrated low on purpose. When one of the OWNERS of the facility gets a ridiculous low reading, and says absolutely nothing, seems like the fix is in.

[BGBD]

21. Yeah

The thermometer was low for sure.

Was it a forehead deal? Those are really picky, if you don't have them at just the right distance the read won't be correct.

[BamaRefugee]

22. Yep, forehead, not touching, about 6 inches away

[BGBD]

24. There it is

I bought one of those. Instructions say to hold it about an inch away.

[BamaRefugee]

25. It might have been a little closer. But I was like DO NOT TOUCH ME WITH THAT! I mean I'm already

going into a nursing home for cripes sake, not where I wanna be in the current environment.

[dweller]

13. need to calibrate that device

or use another

✌🏼

[Beakybird]

17. They need to use a rectal thermometer. They're more accurate.

[BamaRefugee]

18. That would be a festive line to be in.

[BComplex]

40. ROFLMAO!!

[Duppers]

46. Best laugh of the day! 😂

Thanks!

[nini]

55. Lololol

[crickets]

23. .

You're not wrong.

[Captain Zero]

49. Ha Ha. You're serving us ? Well, we are serving you a big ol'butt thermometer.

Exhale and bend over

[KT2000]

19. Friend's was 68 degrees

they just got the new ones that don't even have to touch the skin. I had to break it to her that she was dead.

[BamaRefugee]

20. Yeah, this thermometer didn't touch, just aimed at your forehead, like a cop with a radar gun

[Dem2theMax]

32. I hope she took it well.

I know. The coronavirus isn't funny. But sometimes situations present themselves and you just have to go with them.

[KT2000]

44. + gotta laugh!

She took it to mean she didn't have to go to work!

[Dem2theMax]

47. Hey, we all know what it means to look for an excuse

to not go to work. Being dead should qualify!

[MLAA]

26. I used the temp gun to take 84 yr old husband's temp

He was standing by the bed when I put it a couple inches from his forehead and pulled the trigger he immediately dramatically fell back on the bed dead! I was laughing so hard I could only sputter ‘well I’ve murdered my husband and have nothing to live for’ then I shot myself with it and fell back beside him. Just might be the funniest thing he has done in our 32 year marriage and he has cracked me up many times before.

[Dem2theMax]

33. He sounds like a keeper!

[MLAA]

53. That he is!

We’ve been married for 32 years. Some thought I was making a mistake marrying someone 25 years older than I am, but man we’ve been happy!

[Dem2theMax]

54. I love hearing stories like that!

May you have many more wonderful years together!

[KT2000]

45. Love it!!

[central scrutinizer]

27. Hypothermia

A standard benchmark for hypothermia is 95F, according to the Google.

[pat_k]

42. Yes. Unless you all were exposed to the cold without protection for long enough...

... to start becoming hypothermic, the measuring device was off.

And whoever accepted all those below 95 temperatures was an idiot.

One time, when backpacking with a small group, we were caught in a sudden storm. Got tents up and into warmth as quickly as possible, but as we were setting up, we all began to suffer the early effects of hypothermia. It is difficult to think straight. Everything seems to take forever. You stumble. You feel all wrong.

It is a scary experience.

[lunasun]

28. Long ago I was at a street fair and I hadn't been to a doc for awhile and there was a hospital clini

giving free blood pressure tests . The very sleepy eyed young woman who took my bp said with no reaction something like 75/42 . I just said thanks and thought hmm not checking out that clinic ever.
Yeah they need to recalibrate that temp it’s showing everyone low and yes hmmm

[oldtime dfl_er]

30. How do you calibrate or recalibrate a digital thermometer?

My temp is usally in the 96 to 97 range, and I just assumed that was me. But maybe I need to recalibrate?

[BamaRefugee]

35. Maybe we just add 2 degrees in our heads. Or maybe we're evolving cooler, to offset global warming?

[Historic NY]

41. Weak batteries...

the Center where I go has all brand new BP and Temp machines on fancy roll around carts. Everytime I would go I'd have the same reading for a BP...which I thought was odd. I have a machine at home and it sometimes takes a 3rd reading to be right if it is not plug into house current. Turns out they were not properly calibrated, they just hooked them up and that was it. My Dr finally did it the old fashioned way to obtain an accurate reading. They have battery backup or power interrupt in them which also needs to be changed.

I have one of the point and shoot thermometer guns to checking radiator temperatures, you have to clear the previous reading (Zero it out) before taking a second.

[lostnfound]

48. Bought an Oral thermometer last week, it read 96.5 when I tested it.

I don’t understand. Starting to wish for the old mercury ones. Not sure I trust these digital kind anymore.

[Bantamfancier]

50. This is part where we discuss precision vs accuracy.

Digital devices can be as precise as hell, but totally inaccurate.

Medical thermometers are usually within 0.5 degrees F +/-.

The cheaper digital thermometers can be up to 3.5 degrees F +/-. Which is totally useless.

Easiest way to check is to measure it against ice water then boiling water.

If your readings are correct for them, then you can trust it’s midrange readings.