I have a really innovative and user-friendly product to share with you mamas out there, but full disclosure, this might be the last one. Every time I get excited about a fun new parenting / healthcare gadget, something serious happens to Knox and I get to give it a full on test drive for you. (Remember when Knox broke his leg when I was testing Dr. on Demand?) All jokes aside, this is one of those โwhy didnโt I think of thatโ products that is sure to become a household staple.
When CliniCould reached out to me to test their non-contact thermometer and digital stethoscope, I was honestly excited to get my hands on it. I canโt tell you how many sleepless nights I have gone in to check on the boys, worried about their temperature, but unable to get an accurate reading without waking them up. But it wasnโt until I was actually in a situation using the device that I realized how important the app was where I can actually go back and view the statistics the next day.
It was a couple of weeks ago and Fred was out of state for a dear friendโs wedding. I had decided to stay behind with the boys because it felt like we had just returned home from our trip to California and I didnโt feel comfortable leaving them again knowing I had an upcoming work trip. Anyways, I put the boys to bed in their rooms, just like any other night, and didnโt expect to hear from anyone until the morning. (Andrew is now 9 months old so we are back to having full nights of sleep at our house. Both the boys sleep 12 hours, or close to it.) But around midnight, I awoke to Knox crying and calling my name. I went in his room and immediately knew something was wrong. His body literally felt like an oven.
I remembered I had the CliniCould device in my office so I took Knox with me to get it. I took his temperature and it read 104.6. Normally I would be a little cloudy on the details, but since I still have all the data handy on my App, I know this to be accurate. Of course I know that this is dangerously high so I went straight for the childrenโs Tylenol and began to google what to do for high temperatures in children. (Desperate to find an answer that doesnโt require waking up Drew for a midnight emergency room visit!) I read that you should put him in a lukewarm bath to bring his temperature down, so thatโs what we did. After Tylenol and a bath, I literally watched the temperature drop with each recording until it was down to 98 degrees. I had no idea what caused this spike in his temperature so I made sure to get a recording of his heart and lungs incase we needed to play it back for a doctor the next day. It felt so refreshing to have actual recordings of what happened in the night (when I am half asleep) to be able to share with a doctor.
At this point, I was too nervous for him to go back to his room to sleep so he stayed in our bed where I could monitor him throughout the night and check his vitals while he slept. Not only did I stay up checking on him (without having to wake him), but I also got nervous that Andrew could have caught whatever Knox had so I would sneak into his nursery and check Drewโs temperature, as well. (His stayed a safely below 99 degrees.)
The next morning Knoxโs temperature kept spiking dangerously around 103-104 so I made the decision to take him to our pediatrician. Long story short, he was diagnosed with an ear infection (he also had a cough and some congestion), but I felt so confident having the tools to show our doctor the timeline of Knoxโs temperature and how I couldnโt keep it down with medication. And even more impressively, he could listen to Knoxโs lungs and heart recordings from midnight when Knox felt his worst.
We were lucky to be home and near our doctor this time, but you may remember our scare last summer in Mexico (or several other occasions) when going to the doctor wasnโt an option or just wasnโt convenient (didnโt want to expose the baby to germs, the doctorโs office is closed for the weekend, etc). This brings up another really amazing capability of CliniCould because this allows the physicians at Doctors on Demand to have accurate readings of temperature, heart and lungs at a virtual doctors appointment. (You can read how I used this service here (make sure to read all the way to the end of the post) when Knox was visiting my parents during our babymoon for Andrew.)
Well now that I have bored you with our story, I do want to share a few key points about CliniCould that I think you will all want to know. (Hopefully this helps with some of the question you may have.)
- The kit contains two devices, a non-contact thermometer and a digital stethoscope. The non-contact thermometer doesnโt require actually touching the skin to take an accurate temperature read. This is literally priceless when taking the temperature of a sleeping baby or a child who is already unwell.
- The stethoscope is great for when you’re worried whether a cough could be something more serious. You can use it to easily record the sounds of the heart and lungs to later play back to a physician. The app guides you on where to place the stethoscope; it is so easy anyone can do it! You can then send these recordings directly to Doctor on demand or share them at your doctorโs appointment if you have to wait to get an appointment. The doctor can then listen to the recordings just as if they heard it live – and make a diagnosis. The best part about this is that you could be sitting in the comfort of your own home while receiving a full evaluation โ a first in medical technology!
- The data from the devices are saved directly into the CliniCould app on your mobile device. You can set up profiles for each person in the family so you have a timeline of their health data that can be accessed from anywhere, any time.
If I missed any questions you may have, please leave them in the comments below and I will do my best to answer. Of course, if you have any concerns about your childโs health you should always consult a physician.
This post was brought to you in partnership with CliniCould. Thank you for supporting the brands we love here at HOUSE of HARPER!
Genius! What will they think of next?!? I may need this to help monitor P’s breathing when he’s having an asthma attack!
Yes, I can imagine this would be so helpful with asthma!