Do you still used the "mercury" type thermometer?
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
Philippines
February 22, 2010 10:02am CST
Hello Lotters
,
I just watch the news today that mercury thermometers should be hand over to the government agencies due to it's poison content and the lead that can kill or complicate the persons health.
I have two thermometers at home. I was planning to give it, unless they come up with a reward that is or free give away of the new type of thermoters. ![](/Content/images/emotes/lol.gif)
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8 people like this
30 responses
@jbaunillo (254)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
lolz. so you're waiting for a reward. well, you got a point there. you bought the thermometer and you just cant give it away just like that.
anyways, i do have a mercury thermometer at home and i guess it's more reliable than those digital types. when the battery weakens, then of course the reading is not reliable. so i think id stick to the old type.
2 people like this
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
24 Feb 10
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@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
22 Feb 10
I have a mercury one but I don't like them at all. I try to never have to use it. That is why I also have 2 digital ones. Which are safer and way easier to use and probably more accurate then the other mercury ones.
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@mtdewgurl74 (18151)
• United States
23 Feb 10
Adults/Babies Digital Infrared IR Ears Thermometer and Digital Forehead Infrared IR Thermometer for Baby / Adult is the most expensive ones. But a Digital LCD Baby Child /Adult Body Heating Thermometer made with digital LCD, which is accurate and durable.For use for oral, underarm or rectal use to take temperatures basically get for a reasonable price mostly for $5 at some Dollar General/Family Dollar stores and for the Discount dollar stores for even as cheap as a dollar..not sure how good those are but I have 2 from dollar general and have had them for several years without any mishaps.
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@verabear (796)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
They should make those digital ones a little more affordable to make it easier for us mercury users to switch over. Honestly, the mercury ones are so easy to break and to lose track of, and for the danger it poses to our health we really should get rid of them properly instead of just throwing it in the trash. But the digital ones are quite expensive. :(
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@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
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@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
I have one but I have not been using it for centuries. Nobody in our family has gotten fever for such a long time already. My goodness it is only now that I realized that I have been blessed with a very healthy family! I don't know if I would take time to handover that old thermometer to the government. Maybe just like you, if indeed they will give a replacement then I would ask somebody to surrender it for me. At any rate I am not using it for long time and knowing the danger of this kind of thermometer then I would not be using it for life. I would just discard it myself.![](/Content/images/emotes/happy.gif)
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@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
Ha!ha!ha! Of course I am not yet hundred years old!
I used the word centuries idiomatically to suggest very long and forgotten time! Ha!ha!ha! I could not even count the years this thermometer has not been used so better use the word century. Well I hope there would be a price for the longest unused mercury thermometer and surely it would be me!![](/Content/images/emotes/rofl.gif)
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@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
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@msfrancisco9369 (10002)
• Boston, Massachusetts
23 Feb 10
Hi Letran,
I am working with in clinic in metro manila (we have 4 branches in MM)with two other branches in cebu and davao. all our clinics are not anymore using the mercury type of thermometor. we are using the new one. the digital thermometer. the one that you put on the ear and then wait for the the sound to check the temperature.
1 person likes this
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
24 Feb 10
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@msfrancisco9369 (10002)
• Boston, Massachusetts
24 Feb 10
We’ve been using it even before DOH made that announcement of advise. Even if we put it just near the ear we change the “ear probe”. It’s being replaced after very patient.
@p3ks626 (6538)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
I still use them because its the only thing available here in my country. I have never heard that the government is going to get it and replace it with something more advance. We are still using that kind of thermometers in our hospitals too. You are right that it can cause some diseases but we just dont have a choice. ![](/Content/images/emotes/sad.gif)
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2 people like this
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
24 Feb 10
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@polachicago (18716)
• United States
22 Feb 10
I don't have any, but I would give it away with pleasure for my own safety.
My reward is my good heath and body free from poison.
1 person likes this
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
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@polachicago (18716)
• United States
23 Feb 10
than who has to pay for? taxpayers? so if someone doesn't want to have one? taxpayers means everybody has to pay for an exchange.
It is very expensive to recycle mercury. I would be happy just to give my away without questioning if I have something in exchange.
I know many people with mercury brain damage.
1 person likes this
@laydee (12798)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
Nah, it's because of neglect that people get poisoned.
We've been using mercury thermometers and mercury blood pressure apparatus in our family for well over a generation - since most are medical practitioners. Nobody got sick nor were poisoned.
The best type of measuring tool is mercury because of its accuracy and because it doesn't need batteries (which too could be poisonous if left there to rot).
It's just a precaution that states that we're just too negligent and stupid unlike our past generations.
I think that's like the other rulings that we have these days that aren't really practical. Mercury thermometers last a lifetime, digital ones fail when you need them the most.
Mercury is one of the few elemental substances that is liquid at room temperature. Like all substances, mercury linearly expands as temperature increases. Coupling these two properties, a thermometer is formed.
By confining the mercury to a container of known dimensions, one can determine the ambient temperature based on how much volume a constant mass of mercury occupies. Because mercury expands very little relative to daily temperature changes, the cross section of thermometers must be small enough to accentuate this change in volume.
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@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
24 Feb 10
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@rajaiv0810 (1012)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
I knew instantly that you are from the Philippines without checking your profile. :) It was in the news indeed because of the negative effect of the mercury when it's broken. I wonder why did they show the news only at this time when DOH knew for the very fact that mercury is dangerous. I have broken several thermometer already in the past which means that I had that negative effect already? Anyway, we've been using the digital thing also for quite some time now.
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@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
24 Feb 10
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@neildc (17239)
• Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines
23 Feb 10
"DOH calls for ban on mercury", the title of the Inquirer news item. and if you could read the entire article, it says that,
"As early as September 2008, the DOH had ordered the gradual phase-out of medical devices containing mercury in all health care facilities nationwide, stressing the substance was “highly toxic” especially when metabolized into methyl mercury."
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20100222-254730/DOH-calls-for-ban-on-mercury
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@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
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@mods196621 (3652)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
Yes I still using it. That is my old thermometer which very useful when we need to get our temperature. Anyway there is no kids in our house so I don't have to worry that it will be harmful to us. If this thermometer broke I'll do not buy again the mercury type of thermometer. I better change into digital one. Thanks and have a nice day!![](/Content/images/emotes/happy.gif)
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@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
24 Feb 10
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@Ingkingderders (3832)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
We still use the mercury type, cause the digital is quite expensive compared to the mercury type.. I think it's only hazardous once it the glass breaks..so I'm just going to make sure that it won't break. Hehehehe.
Maybe one of these days though, I'm going to have to buy me a digital thermometer.. Though, if I remember it right, the government said that you should not just put it to trash, cause there is special handling for the mercury.. So I'm not sure how I'm going to get rid of it. ![](/Content/images/emotes/confused.gif)
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@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
24 Feb 10
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@MagicalBubbles (5103)
• Canada
24 Feb 10
I have one that is hanging outside my window so I know whats the temperature like outdoors before I go out. I dont see what harm it can do, I wont break it.
As for thermometer for human temperature, no its a digital one. Not sure if it has mercury or not as Ive never opened it to look inside!!
I wouldnt hand my thermometers in to any government agencies. They came out with some new light bulbs that are full of mercury. Its an oximoron as far as Im concerned and hypocritical!!
1 person likes this
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
24 Feb 10
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@sassyjazz (48)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
I do own one but i wasn't able to use it again. My son doesn't want it put on his underarm so i just bought a digital thermometer...the one that you could just put on forehead for just few seconds. Its more convenient and easy to use....
1 person likes this
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
24 Feb 10
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@se7enthbird (8307)
• Philippines
22 Feb 10
we have two types of thermometer at home. one is the digital and the other is ther one with thermometer. my wife is not sure with the digital ones but she uses it if our son has fever and is very moody that it gets hard to get a temperature.... but she still uses the one with mercury for she said it was accurate. i didnt saw that news that you are reffering but a big question is in my head. why now only? we are using these type for ages or decades ago. it is funny that they now only realize that this caused complications?
1 person likes this
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
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@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
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@madteaparty (2748)
• Japan
23 Feb 10
I have one and I don't see how can you get poisoned with it. The mercury is in the inside, so it's difficult that it will come out, and I never put it on my mouth because of hygiene, so there are 0 possibilities to die because of using it. The new ones are funny to see, but I don't mind using one kind or another.
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@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
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@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
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@nykel88 (999)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
I kinda like the mercury thermometer because I find it accurate than those digital ones but yeah it has a disadvantage when it comes to health. Might as well turn them over. If the Department of Health is really serious about this then they should put up banners already in hospitals so that medical teams can put together all those mercury thermometer and submit it to them. I have 2 thermometers by the way. The mercury and the digital.
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@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
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@aj0659 (2)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
Hi... I am a medical practitioner who do not use mercurial thermometer since i have studying with my course which is nursing. From our duties and community based practice we are using a digital thermometer especially to children and newborns. based form study, a 1 drop of mercury could harm you are even kill you in just a minute because of its chemical content and effect on you body. Therefore, our government already banned using mercurial thermometer to health centers and hospital for patient's safety. And now, in my work, i am still using digital thermometer even though some medical practitioner that it is only 95% accurate compare to mercurial thermometer. So i advise to those people and some of our patients to refrain from using mercurial thermometer instead, a digital one.
@LetranKnight25 (33121)
• Philippines
23 Feb 10
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