Why You Can Trust CNET The iHealth no-touch digital thermometer is back on sale for pre-COVID price: $20
Whether for your family or the COVID-19 front lines, this gadget reads temps in seconds flat.
The thermometer vibrates once it has completed taking a temperature.
About a year ago, demand for no-touch thermometers surged when the coronavirus pandemic hit. That's because a fever is one of the most telling symptoms of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. But of course, we don't want people sharing old-school, under-the-tongue thermometers.
Last spring, prices on these devices (which, for a while, were nearly impossible to get) nearly doubled. Right now, however, the iHealth No-Touch Digital Forehead Thermometer is back on sale for $20, equaling the lowest I've ever seen it.
I've owned one of these for a couple years; it's a breeze to use and it works well. One day last year, I spent an afternoon and evening in bed, with a temperature that seemed to be ticking upward every half hour. Fearing it was COVID-19 (it wasn't), I used the iHealth on myself constantly, grateful to be able to get readings more or less instantaneously.
All you do is put it about an inch from the forehead, then press and hold the button till it vibrates. Presto, there's your reading.
Obviously this is useful for more than just allaying coronavirus fears; it's genuinely great to have on hand, especially if you have young kids. It makes using an oral thermometer feel positively archaic -- and it's a zillion times faster, too.
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