How far do you insert the thermometer?

I am just wondering how far down the thermometer must go for an acurate reading. I usually let in go down a couple inches, so it is almost completely buried in

Almost all nursing and medical books recommend inserting the thermometer 1" or less and I should probably tell you the same, but you can still be safe inserting it as far as 2". Just be gentle and don't force it, whatever you do. Also make sure the person who is having their temperature taken is completely still. With most younger people (less than 12 years of age) 1" insertion depth works just fine. With some larger or older adults, you sometimes have to insert it a bit further that 1" to get an accurate core temperature reading.

Don't forget to rotate it a couple times while it's in...feels great with lots of lube.

Yes. As deep as possible - and in/out and turn around - to stimulate the many sensible nerves ind the rectum :-)

It is not to take the temp, but it is for sexual plesure i put in the termometer. I lub it well and push it as deep as i can, it goes just in and i keep it there with a finger to block it from sliding out. 😁 😁

I wouldn't think any more than 2".

Take as long as you like 1 inch can be a tease but as the rest say 2" is still sfe after all you don't want to lose the thing!!!!!

About an inch but no more then 2 inches, most newer glass thermometers are made in a way that lets you know not to over insert.

So that i dont must hold it, ~2,5"

My wife takes mine and hers at 2" - 2 1/2". She takes our son's at 1" - 1 1/2". Even 1" is enough to make him scream bloody murder.

My wife takes mine and hers at 2" - 2 1/2". She takes our son's at 1" - 1 1/2". Even 1" is enough to make him scream bloody murder.

That's because he is complaining the thermometer is there at all. It has nothing to do with how deep it is.

For the studies that I've helped out with, I've had to insert the probe 10cm in, though the probe was flexible.

1.5 - 2" in a normal adult. for a small child no more than an inch.

I like deep as possible and in/out and turn around to stimulate the many sensible nervers of the rectum. Is delicious!

I will just second patientcare, i always push as deep as it can go. The more times i try the deeper it goes. To day i got the thermometer all the way in and even deeper, all 8", and i had to poo it out. Don`t be afraid it is not lost, you can always get it out.

Today I got the thermometer all the way in and even deeper, all 8", and I had to poo it out. Don`t be afraid it is not lost, you can always get it out.

You obviously are not aware of the risks you present yourself in doing so. The fact you were able to retrieve it without breaking it was luck and not necessarily a repeatable action. You should never insert a thermometer so far that you can no longer control it, once it has been fully inserted it becomes a foreign body that may easily cause injury. If you were not aware, the rectum and sigmoid colon are supplied by the mesenteric artery and mesenteric veins which carry a high volume of blood flow. If the thermometer perforates the bowel there is a high risk it may puncture an artery or vein causing severe hemorrhage. While you were attempting to "poo it out" you may have just as easily broken it, and if you managed to get the two pieces out without a surgeon it would be pure luck.

Any instrument, even the lowly thermometer, must always be handled with care and full control at all times. If you want to fully insert things into your rectum just to do so, stick to suppositories which are perfectly safe.

DrJ58;

I don't insert so far the thermometer! Only a little! I'm afraid that it goes to into my body and it broken inside of me!!! No, only a little! A little is good and is my play doctor that insert it and he have very carefully!

DrJ58 is absolutely right. and I hope his words of warning are heeded.

I wince when I see videos showing scenes where glass, mercury-containing thermometers are inserted into people. This is playing Russian roulette just as much as would be running blindfold across a busy road. There are alternative, safer thermometers available.

It should be pushed in until some resistance is felt. It depends on the internal anatomy of the patient as to the length would enter before the tip reaches its destination.

I don't know where you get your information docshelper, however it is incorrect. You should NOT feel ANY resistance whatsoever. Some basic knowledge of the anatomy of the rectum would tell you there are no pain receptors inside the rectum or colon, therefore injury may occur without the patient being aware of it. The thermometer should never be "pushed", instead it should be "guided" into the rectum and if you are doing things properly it will find its own way. Anything further than an inch or two is needless as the bulb is the reactive element and not the shaft of the thermometer.

Such great advice and knowledge, DrJ. Thanks for sharing it with the board. I even learned more important information about the colon, although I would never insert a thermometer in very deep.

I remember when I used to work at the racetrack, I took the rectal temperatures of the thoroughbreds every morning. I would lube up the thermometer, gently guide it in (and avoid being kicked!) and there was always a string in the thermometer in order to clip it onto the horse's tail. No way was I ever to allow a thermometer to disappear into a stallion's rectum.

Now, I just treat human studs 🌹.

Lady Teddy

Puncturing the colon is a very real risk... I rather insert too shallow than not deep enough...

I would be afraid to go much past an inch....too much risk of injury while "playing around"

One to two inches for an adult seems right to me. I remember, as a little boy, my mother would slowly insert the thermometer for about an inch. As I lay on my tummy, I would feel the thermometer start to slide out. Mom would part my buttocks and gently push it back in. The thermometer would be "adjusted' several times in this fashion, until the three minutes had passed and mom would remove and read the temperature.

About two inches.

I believe in putting it in till you reach rock bottom. The thermometer guides itself and usually stops when it can't go deeper. When the thermometer stops going in is where it should be. The round bulb of the thermometer stops it from damaging anything.

When I was 6, it went in deep but did not stop till it hit rock bottom, it kept going in and in and in and in. That thermometer was relentless. I think when I was young it must have been put in at least 2-3 inches. Vaseline definitely helped, even though I was so tight when she inserted it that most of it was on the outside, but was always in awe when I saw the funny thermometer with a thick coating of Vaseline on top. I remember turning on my stomach and the thermometer was buried in my butt. It did not go in any deeper. I was on the couch and thermometer was longer than 6 yo buns.

I agree with nurse Nikki. With care, you can go a little farther, but I'd recommend leaving the deeper penetration to your fingers. You have much better control and there's less risk of injury, should the patient move suddenly, as she may do, with all the associated excitement.

I've found that it's the whole experience that gets most women excited...stripping, being put into position, watching as the thermometer is prepared, etc. Once all of that is in place, whether the anal stimulation comes from the thermometer, a finger, or a combination of both is secondary.

An ex-girlfriend of mine would go crazy when I would just talk her through me giving her suppositories and taking her temperature while using my finger as the suppository or thermometer. A much safer, and still quite satisfying option.

Lots of good information in this thread

I think it all depends on the person. You should only use one finger to insert the thermometer. Index and when you feel a resistance that is when you hit bottom pardon the pun.

It depends on the thermometer. With an old European-style model (similar to the Geratherm ones found now in the U.S.), you can insert it up to the shoulder, which then touches the sphincter and adds some additional (pleasant) sensations.