One evening a month ago we awoke in the middle of the night to our daughter screaming and crying. Typically that signals a bad dream. Not that time though. She was hot to the touch and holding the side of her head. Through the sobs, we heard her say, "My ear hurts really, really bad." We tried to take her temperature with the ear thermometer, but there was no way we were getting near the ear. We calmed her down, gave her some pain medicine, and eventually got her back to sleep. The next morning we sought medical help. It was the weekend so instead of visiting our doctor we unfortunately had to make a trip to immediate care (a.k.a. emergency room in our rural area). Prior to this emergency room visit I signed up for the Exergen TemporalScanner review campaign. Little did I know that I'd get to see the product in action before it was shipped to our home. In the emergency room triage area, the nurse took my daughter's temperature with this very thermometer. Intrigued, I asked her what she thought of the temporal scanner. She replied that at first she was skeptical about the claimed accuracy of the new device. The emergency room conducted their own week long test, comparing results of the TemporalScanner with their standard procedure of taking temperatures. Amazed, they discovered that the thermometer worked as promised and was just as accurate if not more accurate than taking temperatures orally. The temporal artery thermometer is now their method of choice for recording temperatures. If the Exergen TemporalScanner is good enough for the emergency room, it is good enough for us!
The Exergen TemporalScanner is an infrared thermometer that measures the blood temperature in the temporal artery, a main artery in the forehead. Here's the amazing part -- the sensor accurately measures body temperature to within +0.2ºF! That is a whole lot more accurate than taking the temperature using other means: oral, rectal, under the arm or ear. It is also way less invasive. And, according to the press release it is the only thermometer manufactured in the U.S.The thermometer is super easy to use, only taking 2-3 seconds. All you need to do is:
1). Put the thermometer probe on the forehead.This is a dream thermometer for parents with small children. No discomfort is felt at all during the scan and it just takes seconds. Even my squirmy one-year-old sits still to get his temperature taken! We've used our several times and love it.
2). Push the scan button & gently scan across the forehead,
3). Release the button and read the temp.
(Just make sure to take off the protective cap before taking the temperature, otherwise the thermometer will not read correctly.)
You can find the thermometer at most major retailers. It sells for around $40-$50, but believe me, it is worth every penny. Currently, a $5 off promotion is underway. Click here to download a TAT-2000C Educational Pamphlet and rebate coupon [pdf].
Win one! Exergen Corporation has kindly offered to give one Brimful Curiosities reader an Exergen TemporalScanner.To enter, visit Exergen.com and leave a comment letting me know why you think you need this thermometer.
• For contact purposes, if you are a non-blogger or your email is not accessible in your blog profile, please leave a valid email address within the comment section.Three ways to gain extra entries (Maximum total entries is 4):
• Contest is open to US only
• Contest ends on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 11:59 PM CST.
• Winner will be chosen at random
1st extra entry: Follow Me! or subscribe by email or RSS reader
2nd extra entry: Blog about this contest then post your link in the comment section.
3rd extra entry: Follow me on twitter (iambrimful) and tweet about the contest.
Thanks to Family Review Network and Exergen Corporation for this review opportunity!

































