$20 thermometer takes a reading through thin air

The $20 thermometer that takes your child's temperature through thin air. We take it to a pediatrician to test it out!

When you're a parent with a sick kid, you know how important it is to monitor their temperature, but the last thing you want to do is disturb them - especially if they're sleeping!

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That's why a $20 high tech thermometer called the iHealth Infrared No-Touch Thermometer intrigued me. Just hold it over a forehead and it takes a reading in less than a second - right through thin air!

I took both the thermometer and my 4-year-old kid to Dr. Tanya Altman, a pediatrician who runs Calabasas Pediatrics.

She explained that thermometer technology has changed a lot. In fact, those old mercury thermometers that you used to have to shake - are no longer recommended for use. The best readings come from a rectal thermometer, but what parent wants to deal with that?

Which is why many doctors and parents have switched to models that take a swipe of the forehead or take a reading from inside the ear.

We tested the iHealth thermometer against three other devices - a forehead swipe, another infrared no-touch model as well as an in-ear model. They all took similar temps within about a degree of each other.

The iHealth takes a reading in about a second. I found the trickiest part was to make sure you were at the recommended distance from the forehead. Otherwise, you won't get a reading. The display is really nice - large digits that are easy to read.

Bottom line, the iHealth works as advertised on both adults and kids. The nice part is that unlike thermometers that must touch a part of the body, there are no plastic tips to replace and the device stays clean.

The iHealth Thermometer PT3 is $20 on their website and $28 on Amazon.