Why do we measure fever by placing a thermometer under the tongue?
Upon experiencing a slight fever, individuals typically resort to placing their hand on their forehead as a preliminary means of assessing warmth. Nevertheless, this technique fails to yield a precise evaluation of core body temperature. At most, it allows for the detection of the presence and severity of a fever. In general, the average human body temperature is approximately 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit). When the temperature exceeds a given threshold, it is termed as fever, which may even require pharmacological intervention. Therefore, it becomes imperative to determine the exact temperature, for which, a thermometer is usually used. To determine the accurate body temperature, it needs to measure the core temperature because this reflects the body's internal heat most accurately. The sublingually measured temperature is considered as an excellent estimator of core temperature. This is the reason thermometers are placed under the tongue for measuring temperature. ...