# Do forehead thermometers spread infections at doctors offices? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 15, 2019, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023 "2019-05-15T22:27:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sara20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@sara20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sara20)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/1 "2019-05-15T22:27:00Z")
Most of the doctor’s offices I have been to the past couple years now use forehead thermometers, where they rub it against your forehead and temple. I wonder if these can spread infection such as virus, strep, staph, and MSRA between patients? To me it seems unsanitary. There is no disposable cover or anything. When they first used it a couple years ago they would wipe the end with an alcohol pad first before using it, now they just use it without cleaning it first. I have asked a couple times for them to clean it first and they usually say they clean it afterwards which I have never seen, and then they clean it in front of me while acting bashful. Are they coated in antimicrobial stuff now or was the person just lazy, and can they spread infections between patients? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/2 "2019-05-15T22:34:10Z")
Well, now I have new phobia for the doctors office. Thanks;) I think, really, it’s highly unlikely you’ll catch something from that. You’re more likely to catch something from getting a pedicure. Do like I do, ask them to clean it everytime. I’m not afraid to do it. I have asked a doctor to wash his hands before. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2019, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/3 "2019-05-15T23:44:44Z")
I’ve never heard of them to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/4 "2019-05-16T01:51:36Z")
None of my doctors use forehead thermometers. They all use digital oral thermometers with the condom-like disposable covers. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/5 "2019-05-16T01:54:45Z")
They probably do clean them. And is the forehead even a concern when it comes to acquiring the flu or a cold? It’s not a mucous membrane and it doesn’t come into contact with them either. Now, if there was an Ebola outbreak… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/6 "2019-05-16T02:53:02Z")
> [@sara20](#): > > I have asked a couple times for them to clean it first and they usually say they clean it afterwards which I have never seen, and then they clean it in front of me while acting bashful. Do the exam rooms in these medical offices have those exam tables with the paper covering? Does the paper covering ever look wrinkled or torn, as if someone else was sitting there before you entered the room? I doubt it, as they probably _do_ clean the rooms between patients, including rolling out a new section of the exam table paper along with wiping down (with disinfectant wipes) the blood pressure cuffs, forehead thermometers, etc. I expect that it shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes between patients. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/7 "2019-05-16T12:50:44Z")
"My doctor felt my forehead, then excused himself and went to wash his hands. I followed him and washed my forehead." ``` -- Alan King in *Help! I'm a prisoner in a Chinese Bakery!* ``` ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/8 "2019-05-16T13:22:08Z")
Wouldn’t touching the door handles, the seats in the waiting room, etc…much more likely to spread an infection than a thermometer that touches your forehead? I don’t think that forehead to forehead is a likely route for infection. ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/9 "2019-05-16T13:26:50Z")
I think at worst it might just spread acne or makeup residue from patient to patient. I’ve never seen them either, but they sound kind of icky. They would HAVE to clean them between each patient. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/10 "2019-05-16T18:21:42Z")
Just went in for a routine checkup this morning. Items apparently never cleaned I came into contact with: The blood pressure cuff. The finger squeezing pulse monitor. The tabletop and rubber tourniquet the lab tech used when drawing my blood. A ton of stuff all over like chairs, door handles, a touch screen, etc. One nice touch is the tear-off paper sheet on the exam table. It’s just wide enough to give the impression it’s for sanitation but not actually wide enough to do even a half-baked job. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/11 "2019-05-16T20:06:17Z")
I’m pretty sure they don’t change all the air in the examination room between patients either. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/12 "2019-05-16T20:10:17Z")
I really hate door knobs. I really, REALLY hate this thread. I may never leave the house again. Excuse me while I go clean all the door knobs in my house. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/13 "2019-05-17T01:47:27Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I really hate door knobs. > I really, REALLY hate this thread. I may never leave the house again. Excuse me while I go clean all the door knobs in my house. Don’t get an Uber or Lyft ride after their latest report. More germs on the car door handle then toilet seats. > **[Study: Backseats of Uber, Lyft vehicles carry more germs than toilet seats,...](https://fox8.com/news/study-backseats-of-uber-lyft-vehicles-carry-more-germs-than-toilet-seats-toothbrush-holders/)** > > SAN FRANCISCO — Do you instinctively hop into the backseat when your Uber or Lyft pulls up?  Well, new research may have you rethinking that decision. According to a study conducted by insura… Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/14 "2019-05-17T02:05:27Z")
Ewwww. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/15 "2019-05-17T12:17:31Z")
I thought they stuck something in your ear to read temperatures. Have they changed it to something new, or is forehead reading an older technology? ---
**Author:** ![sjankis630](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ea924/32.png) [@sjankis630](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjankis630)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/16 "2019-05-17T15:12:46Z")
My doctor’s office uses the disposable ear things for temperature. I have never seen anyone cleaning blood pressure cuffs, finger clips for oxygen and I don’t think I have seen anyone disinfecting the exam rooms between patients. The exception to this would be in the emergency room/hospital setting. My primary care doctor’s office does ask you to don a mask if you have a cough right outside their office. I have never seen anyone using it however. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/17 "2019-05-17T16:05:17Z")
I’ve only seen the forehead thermometers at pediatric urgent care clinics. Everywhere else I go, they’ve used sublingual (or rectal, I suppose) thermometers with little rigid plastic covers. The ones I mostly see are a lot like these: > **[Physical Exam and Diagnostics](https://www.hillrom.com/en/products-category/physical-exam-and-diagnostics/thermometry/)** > > Physical Exam and Diagnostics ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/18 "2019-05-17T16:12:34Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I really hate door knobs. > I really, REALLY hate this thread. I may never leave the house again. Excuse me while I go clean all the door knobs in my house. Get copper or copper alloy for your knobs if it is a concern. Copper has solid antimicrobial properties. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/19 "2019-05-17T17:05:27Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Get copper or copper alloy for your knobs if it is a concern. Copper has solid antimicrobial properties. Brass has enough copper for the oligodynamic effect to work as well, and brass doorknobs are a lot easier to find than copper I suspect. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023/20 "2019-05-17T17:21:30Z")
Bad news, **Beck** , your intestines are filled with bacteria. 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-forehead-thermometers-spread-infections-at-doctors-offices/834023.md?page=2)