Normal body temperature.98.2

[Guest guest]

There is often reference made on this board and elsewhere, including Dr. Rind's website, to 98.6 being the optimal oral body temperature. 37 degree C (37.0 C = 98.6 F) average temperature was established in 1861 by German physician Carl Wunderlich. He took the first systematic measurements of human body temperature, measuring one million temperatures from 250,000 healthy individuals. I read that the 37 C was based on underarm readings.

Normal body temperature is actually a range of temperatures, now accepted to be from 97.6 to 98.8, depending on time of day, age, and sex. Temperatures are higher in the afternoon than in the morning and temperatures decline with age. Recent research has established 98.2 as average normal body temperature. See http://hypertextbook.com/facts/LenaWong.shtml.

When I read the temperature research done in the last decade or two, I wondered if people with unrecognized thyroid problems or lowered metabolism from modern-day chemicals such as fluoride were included in the so-called healthy sample used to establish normal baselines, driving the average temperature down. However, it appears that the original research in 1861 was done with a thermometer that was calibrated too high.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1511/is_n1_v14/ai_13652010

Why the slight difference between the two sets of numbers? When Mackowiak tested an alleged Wunderlich thermometer, borrowed from a medical museum, he found that it was calibrated too high--which might explain the German doctor's higher numbers.

Another issue is that Wunderlich averaged the normal temperature to 37 C, which converts to 98.6 F. Wunderlich's value has only two significant figures while the converted value has three. The last digit (the "point six" at the end) should be regarded with great suspicion. Wunderlich's converted value should really be stated as "ninety eight point something" if one is being honest.

In one of the modern research studies only 8% of the subjects had an oral body temperature of 98.6. While there is no one ideal body temperature, 98.2 F seems to have more scientific basis than 98.6 F.

If you want to research this yourself, do a search on "normal body temperature".

Lynn