Thermometer Codes - Red, Blue & ?

Friends,

I just bought a Vintage 1950's B-D Asepto glass mercury thermometer with a blue tip. I have yet to read the pristine instructions that are included, but despite the blue tip, this has every sign of being a rectal thermometer with the stubby tip at the insertion end. Any authorities on the subject? It's going in my and others bottom's despite?

Regards,

Sounds like it is marked, (color), as an oral but by your description, (stubby), it is probably a "combination". This does not mean that you should use it both ways interchangeably!!

Could just be a factory mistake

I have yet to read the pristine instructions that are included

When you do, you will likely find it is called a "Clinical" thermometer, which was sold for consumer home use. It was not specific and could be used for oral, rectal or axillary temperatures.

Thanks Doc

I think there is quite a bit of variation, except I have never seen a thermometer with the longer, thinner bulb marked "rectal." The "stubby" was intended for oral or rectal use tho the box or instructions usually said something like "don't use orally after rectal use." I bought a half dozen stubbies a couple years ago on ebay from the Charity Hospital of New Orleans. Tho they have a stubby bulb, "oral" is marked on the thermometer's body. I use them rectally, however. The classic pear-shaped bulbs I have seen have almost always said "rectal" on then and/or had red tips but sometimes the distinction between stubby and pear-shaped is mighty trivial. For my own preference, I just get an extra turn on from seeing the red tip protruding from between a shapely pair of bottom cheeks.

I have been looking for the "old fashioned kind" but have been unsuccessful, Have tried ebay, etc but have had no luck

Keep searching tcuplvr. hope ya successful in finding one very soon

@tcuplvr: Check these out. They are on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-TAYLOR-Certified-Fever-Thermometer-Rectal-USA-1937-w-Box-1930s-/181064375706?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D5078574029103465027%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D1%26sd%3D190782086454%26

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BABY-RECTAL-THERMOMETER-CASE-MERCURY-VINTAGE-NEW-BLISTER-CARD-/190788286500?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D5078574029103465027%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D2%26sd%3D190782086454%26

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-B-D-Benton-Dickinson-medical-Fever-Thermometer-rectal-w-case-/261158668724?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D5078574029103465027%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D3%26sd%3D190782086454%26

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-working-Eisele-Certified-Clinical-Rectal-Thermometer-/251217871940?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D5078574029103465027%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D4%26sd%3D190782086454%26

I grew up in the 1970's, and our thermometers (we had two identical ones) were both BD thermometers, and both had blue triangle tips, but both had RECTAL printed on them, and "rectal" was printed clearly on the boxes they came in. Never understood why they were blue instead of red on the triangle tips, but there was no question which end they were designed for, and mom certainly used them as they were intended, and often.

Color coding is a funny thing. In the '80's I had a couple of BD brand with the blue tips....some other brand..I've forgotten which one it was...came with a yellow tip and some have no color coding at all. It is always the bulb that determines R versus O. I recently bought a batch of military surplus that featured the red tip.

No more colors today sadly

Red for Rectal, Blue for Oral.. However, I've seen the blue tipped (stubby bulb) thermometer used rectally. I have several B-D rectal digital thermometers with red tops, new and in red colored boxes.

What do the various codes on glass thermometers refer to? For example: One rectal thermometer I own reads, "A 2 01 MICH 1 faichney USA," while another (also rectal) reads "A3 D 25MICH 72 Medline China"

My Geratherm Rectal displays no such coding whatsoever..

From what I've seen nursing over the years, most of the writing is something the manufacturer uses to identify particular batches of thermometers. Some of the older thermometers had RECTAL written on the triangle end of the stem. But a rule of thumb in our profession is RED is for RECTAL, BLUE is for ORAL. A rectal thermometer should always have a stubby tip for safe insertion. Red and blue codes also apply to digital thermometer probes.

I may be wrong here, but I have come to the conclusion that the 'MICH' in both cases refers to the state of Michigan, and denotes that the thermometer complies with Michigan state law, which has a legal standard for accuracy of clinical thermometers.

Mich. Comp. Laws Section 750.469(2) states -

(2) A standard clinical thermometer is a certified thermometer that registers accurately at every reading and is in compliance with the rules promulgated by the board of pharmacy for all self-registering clinical thermometers commonly used for measuring body temperature. These thermometers shall not have a variance of over 2/10 of a degree at 98 degrees fahrenheit and 102 degrees fahrenheit nor by more than 3/10 of a degree at 106 degrees fahrenheit.

It may well be that any thermometer destined for sale in the US would be tested, and marked to show it meets this standard in case it should ever find its way to Michigan.

I cannot find any other comparable state law.

Very intersting thread.

I have no idea

I've collected many glass thermometers and I have always been fascinated by what I find for the code on the thermometer. I have yet to find a steady set pattern in them. I'll have to look at them again and see if I can use the power of the Internet to determine what they mean.

I always thought red was for rectal and blue was for oral

Fun thing - I recall seeing thermometers sold in the US with red (rectal) and blue (oral) cases but there was no apparent difference between them except one was labeled rectal.

I have never seen what some people here allude to - different tip shapes.

During the 70's, I noticed the color changes, which may have been introduced in that era. The blue tipped thermometers were usually stubby, and could no doubt be used for rectal or oral. My guess is that thermometer companies wanted to reduce costs, and maybe give the consumer more options. I also saw that rectal thermometers became thinner, and the bulbs almost microscopic, compared to earlier designs, which were probably made by hand. I took one girlfriend's temp. with a newer version, and she could hardly feel it in her butt. When I used an older style thermometer, she complained that it was uncomfortable.

I have seen the old rectal thermometers and you can hardly feel those either. It's like the porn stars who try their hand at fetish videos. They make all kinds of faces and all kinds of noise when they take a thermometer in the butt. Drama, drama, drama!

Mashie

For some reason, my childhood thermometer had a blue triangle, but still said rectal on the side, as well as on the box it came in. It was a B-D thermometer from the 70’s.

The color coding on thermometers tended to be really uneven - either no color coding or yellow for the BD thermometers with yellow background for readability, or blue for either oral or rectal use, and sometimes red for rectal.

It seems more thermometers were explicitly labeled ORAL, since rectal thermometers can be used pretty universally.

Cases were another story. Some were just generic, but others were usually blue for oral and red for rectal. Though I remember Q-tips branded one in green for rectal. And pink was for baby. I could never understand the difference between rectal and baby, and assumed it might be more for marketing than any practical difference.

I also remember Walgreens selling "universal" thermometers alongside rectal and oral. Basically a rectal thermometer but labeled for general use (oral, rectal, axillary). Again presumably a marketing tactic, or perhaps more targeted for axillary temp takers. Hopefully they were not used interchangeably once committed for oral vs rectal use. :-)

It is really a good question!

However someone know where i can buy those old style thermometers?

MplsPlayDr: The thermometers sold in France were like that (no color coding, sold for oral/rectal/axillary). I think that if you use them like my mother did (clean the thermometer with alcohol after each use) there would not even be a problem doing oral after rectal; but in our house everybody had to use rectal anyway.

I always thought the red-tip was rectal.

I have seen 3 colors, Red, Blue, and Green. I was told Red rectal, blue oral, and Green could be Oral or veterinary. We had one or two vet thermometers on the ranch with tall clip holes, that had a Green color on that end.