Would you be in favor of fever detectors in stores and restaurants?

Sounds like something out of Star Trek, not a horrible idea,but I would want the technology absolutely proven before implemented .

No I would not be in favor of this.
What would you be looking for by checking for fevers? This would cause a police state in which I am not in favor of.

I tend to run a little cooler (~96.5F) and feel feverish if I reach the human average of ~98.2F (not 98.6F as many think). On the other hand, there are those who are the opposite of me who would trip those things all the time.

So, based simply on the inaccuracy due to variability in human physiology, I would say not just no, but Hell, no!

It would actually result in turning away so few people, that it would never be worth the cost of implementation. Most people recognize when they’re sick and stay home.

One would have to be extraordinarily paranoid of becoming ill to think this would be a good idea in practice.

Too much technology taking over the job of common sense. I know I get a fever with things that are not contagious. What do you do if someone comes in with a fever, shoot them?

Absolutely not. If one is so very concerned about that, one should take steps to safeguard their own health. Wear a mask, use gloves or hand sanitizers, disinfect everything anyone else has touched, etc.

I personally prefer not to live in unreasonable fear.

When we landed in Beijing in 2003, we had to stand in front of a screen that showed the the body heat radiating from your face and measured your temperature. If you were running a high fever, you were not allowed in the country.

The guy ahead of us registered high and was taken away (to who knows where) by airport security.

This was in the days of the SARS epidemic, so they were being cautious.

Generally speaking, no thank you. Too many variables and opportunity for privacy invasion.

@Jaxk What is this “common sense” thing of which you speak?

I would be in favor of it, except my temperature runs normal between 99.6, and 100.1.

I don’t know why people think it is paranoid to want sick people to stay home. They don’t you know. People all over America think it’s a great thing to brag about how they never miss a day of work even when sick and most people don’t care about getting other people sick.

I worked in retail and we have had to tell customers we can’t do their make-up appointment, because of the herpes on their lip. They were perfectly fine using our testers and brushes. Or, some of the Latin Americans I know who can’t not do the kiss greeting even when they feel the cold coming on. Or, my MIL who insists a stomach virus is stress and the scratch in her throat that turns into congestion is an allergy. Well, that stomach virus was passed on to the other family members and the allergy lasted a week. People function in denial about being sick all the time.

One way to help prevent the spread of contagious illness if the sick person must go out into public is for them themselves to wash their hands and wear a mask. In parts of Asia people do that when they are sick out of respect for others.

Normal temps do run in a range, but being normal above 100 is pretty rare as far as I know. We could make it above 100.5 if that was a better number.

I agree it could be overkill. Too much Big Brother like scary tech.

@Here2_4 Any chance your thyroid is fast?

What is the purpose of having to know everyone’s temperature anyway? Do people really need a high temperature to be listed as “too sick to shop”?

No, society functions OK without fever detectors.

No, too restrictive. Too big brother.

No. You’ve probably got a better chance of getting hit by a driver on a cellphone on your way to the store (or for that matter, mowed down by some gun nut in the store) than catching a cold at while shopping.

This exists and is functioning already in many international airports. Munich uses the FLIR Systems SR-100 cameras supposedly to protect the perimeters but, that does not explain their use in the Immigration hallway. (Take a look the next time you are there. How many can you spot?)
Other airports use Fluke color cameras. They are good to 0.02 C resolution. Prices are coming down. You can get a good system that would do the job for about $5,000 now.

So are you in favor of this @LuckyGuy ?

@LuckyGuy Highly advanced equipment operated by untrained individuals doesn’t fit my definition of “functioning” regardless of how low the price dropped over the years.

Nope, it’s just a bit too much Big Brother controlling the hoi polloi. Like steerage having to go through Ellis Island but first class passengers being dropped off in Manhattan. It’s not a matter of keeping shopping areas free from illness, it’s a way to tell people they are not allowed somewhere.

Running a fever does NOT necessarily mean you are contagious. It could mean all kinds of things. But putting temp scans as guardians would mean no one with fever could ever go there, regardless of cause or necessity.

Besides, exposure to a bit of illness is better for your long term health anyway. We are already too antiseptic for our own good.

No I wouldn’t be in favor of that.

Plus, it would have to be government mandated with penalties for those businesses who didn’t comply. (Can you imagine any stores eager to keep out paying customers unless forced to ?)

That’s way too much government involvement in our everyday lives to suit me.

This is not Korea or China !

No.

A: The human body’s normal temperature can range to a little over 100 degrees.

B: A fever can be from numerous different causes, most completely unrelated to anything contagious.

C: You can be contagious with a lot of illness and run no fever at all.

@JLeslie “People function in denial about being sick all the time.”

Yeah, but people also function while sick. Society functions while some of its members are sick. People can get sick from other sick people, and then get better again. Life will go on.

You can’t create a filter that will keep out all of the people you don’t want to be in contact with. The far easier thing is to filter yourself – i.e., stay at home. This is how Howard Hughes ended up walking around his house with Kleenex boxes on his feet. Sometimes you just have to accept that you can’t control everything, and deal with what comes your way.

Believe it or not, that is the healthy way to approach life.

Absolutely not. I have seen people that are deathly sick and highly contagious that have low body temperatures. My concern would be that having such an item would cause people to get into a false sense of security about germs and illnesses and we would actually see an increase in illnesses because people would cut back on the basics (hand hygiene, covering their mouth, etc.) because they would figure everyone around them was healthy since they got past the fever detector.

No, I wouldn’t want it, either. Not only for some of the reasons already mentioned, but also because sometimes people literally don’t have a choice to stay home when they’re ill. Unfortunately, not every person has other people who can help them take care of things that have to be done.

@JLeslie , some people just run warm normally. That was what doctors have told me. My thyroid checks out just fine during pysicals. Sometime in the past year I was sick, and the doctor ran several tests before I got better. It checked out then too.
Maybe there could be businesses, cabs, etc. which could voluntarily be monitored for use by people who are fever free, just so those people could feel a little safer, without closing off the world for people who must function sick.

Maybe do this in nightclubs on weekends to help prevent Saturday Night Fever.
Although you can tell by the way they walk if they’re running a temperature or not.

@JLeslie: Too many people simply can’t afford to miss a day or two or three of work. And, as @DrasticDreamer points out, many also don’t have someone else able to pick up the slack. Single parents still have kids to feed, lots of people still have to run errands today.
You can only be responsible for your own health and safety, like the rest of us.

I drive defensively, I lock my doors, I don’t walk alone in questionable parts of town at night.
I take responsibility for myself.

I wouldn’t take a position on the device one way or the other. The things might come in handy when it comes to an epidemic but how many folks are walking around with a fever anyway? I don’t believe businesses should be required to install such devices, but if the owner of an establishment opted to place one in his store or restaurant, that’s his choice and he’s welcome to it.

Meh. Just do not sneeze up the place like some spray bottle and you will be fine.
Besides, civilised countries have universal healthcare.

Do any of you worry about getting other people sick (outside of your home) when you feel an illness coming on? Do you avoid going out in public to protect the public? Do you wash your hands before shopping or opening doors at work to protect others when you are sick?

@Pachy It isn’t about colds. As I said adults don’t run fevers with colds. I’m always shocked when adults don’t know that. I would guess people have more chance of catching the flu than being hit by a car every year, but I’d have to look up the stats. If we tested for fever it still wouldn’t completely cut the flu from spreading, but it might put a dent in it. Some other diseases also. Luckily, in the US we don’t have too many serious contagious diseases spreading around.

A friend of mine has breast cancer that metastasized to her bones. She has been given about a year to live. She runs a temperature of 100 to 102 frequently. Of course she is not contagious. I would hate for my friend to be refused entry anywhere because her temperature isn’t deemed within “standards” that someone came up with.

To clarify, I agree people run fevers for other reasons. I ran a fever after surgery. As I said above it is a little too Big Brother for me too.

What I would like to see is a shift in the American culture to be a little but more considerate about spreading illness. I have no problem kissing, hugging, shaking hands, if I can assume the other person is not sick. When I was sick staying in a hotel I washed my hands and used a napkin when serving myself breakfast from the bar, hoping to somewhat protect others. I try to do little things.

Of course in this day and age we sue for everything. Variations in temperature between blacks and whites or men and women, variations due to menstruation are all lawsuits waiting to happen. Variations do exist and there are those that would love to take advantage of them. I don’t need nor want a filter in my store to eliminate customers who may or may not need to stay home.

I wonder who would sue who when a sick person is denied entry to get their prescription filled and subsequently dies.

@Jaxk Good point.

I actually think about all those germs when I go to the pharmacy.

Oh, good grief, @JLeslie, it’s not like I feel that most people are out there smearing spit and snot and feces on doorknobs and stuff, in fact I think most of them take the same basic precautions that I do, with the same consideration for others that I feel, but stuff happens. People need to be able to live their lives, work if they have to, shop if nobody else can do it for them.

I can’t help but wonder how much this would cost. We would of course place the burden of cost on the business owner but still, there are millions of brick and mortar stores in the US. At $5,000 (Luckyguy’s number) apiece, that’s a heavy burden. Then of course you need someone to monitor the device and someone to enforce the rule. Enforcing the rule is no small task and how qualified must the person be to sort through all the possible excuses for a higher than normal temperature. I would think this is unworkable and as a convenience store owner (there are more than 150,000 of us) I can’t afford it.

@canidmajor They are. They don’t wash their hands after they sneeze into them. A significant percentage of men don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom, some women too. Luckily, in America we have very little Hep A, although border states for many years have been vaccinating children, now maybe we do it to all children. I don’t know how old you are, but I don’t know anyone in the US who has had Hep A, but my Mexican husband and both of his siblings had it during their childhood. That means sometime else’s feces made it into their mouths. Don’t even dismiss it as a third world thing, it’s just that sort of thing can spread exponentially. Once an area has enough of that diseases more and more people contract it, like most illness.

Colds and flu get passed around, because people generally aren’t cautious. How do you think it happens? Magic? Of course, cold and flu are unfortunately contagious before we know we are sick.

@JLeslie: Errm…flu shots? Didn’t you mention somewhere here recently that you don’t get the flu shot?

@gailcalled Well, according to most people on this thread we don’t need to be paranoid about illness in general, so I’m not sure why they would even get a flu shot. The current illness in full swing right now is the three week cough/bronchial thing. Flu shot does nothing for that. It also doesn’t cause much if a temperature rise if any so a fever detector wouldn’t help.

Personally speaking I’ve never gotten a flu shot and I’ve come down with the flu only once in the past 10 years or so.

No, @JLeslie, “they” are not. Some are a bit careless, most are not. I choose to live my life being mindful, but not so judgemental about if “other” people are washing their hands as often as you seem to think they should. I would imagine that normal activities in public, shopping, movies, dining out, must be quite fraught for you, and I’m sorry you have to go through that, but I won’t let my enjoyment of my life be overwhelmed by worry for the minor daily indiscretions of others. I have been severely immuno-compromised (chemo and radiation) and took normal precautions, and was not made I’ll by regular contact.

We all do what we think is appropriate, my coping methods are different from yours, and I may well be a little happier for not having quite so much worry in my life.

@canidmajor Not really. I very rarely get sick. I worked in retail for over twenty years, face to face with the public. I have had the flu once as an adult 20 years ago and never had a flu shot. I had it once as a child too.

I’m sick right now and I was one month ago, the first time in years. I started working and I work at the person’s house. He has four kids. They have been sick over and over again the last few months. His wife uses the same computer I do when I am not there and he has been sick also and uses the phone I do and sometimes my computer and if I get sick again before the end of the year I will probably quit. I’m tired of it. The wife actually warns me if a kid is sick and I know she tries to wash her hands before coming into the office. But, I use the same bathroom as the girls, and I don’t think my boss bothers to be careful.

When my husband is sick I move to the guest room. I haven’t caught something from him in over ten years. I can’t remember the last time.

@JLeslie If you don’t even get a flu shot, I don’t know how you can expect anyone to take you seriously on this subject.

@dappled_leaves I don’t know what that has to do with anything? Plus, I’m asking for people’s thoughts and opinions. The Q is just that a question. I have agreed with people in the Q on some points, have you noticed? I’m not trying to convince people of anything, but it is no secret people’s lack of awareness if how illness is spread can be frustrating to me. Also, when people don’t care about others getting sick from them.

When I tell people I move to another room the first few days my husband comes down with something I get what you have seen here, comments about how it must be awful to live so paranoid or that I am so mean to my husband.

You know what, @JLeslie? If you are in someone’s home, I firmly believe that the burden is on you to look after yourself. There are steps you can take, from hand sanitizers to wipes to make that environment less germy for you. I’ve worked retail, waited tables, bartended, raised kids and spent a lot of time at schools, and still managed to survive. If you rarely get sick, then what’s your problem? I think maybe you can stop assuming that the rest of us are disgusting sacks of walking pestilence.

Do what you need to do to stay healthy, but please stop assuming that I’m not doing my part.

@JLeslie “I don’t know what that has to do with anything?”

Let me help you with that – it’s related to this: “Also, when people don’t care about others getting sick from them.”

If you don’t get the flu shot, you don’t care whether others get sick from you.

@dappled_leaves I take precautions to protect others when I’m sick. The flu shot only protects people from the flu. There is a plethora of colds and bacterial infections to catch.

@canidmajor I do take precautions. Mostly, I just try to be in the habit of not touching my face. Your response implies you don’t worry at all about infecting others, that’s their problem.

@JLeslie Vaccination programs are not about protecting individuals from an illness. They are about creating herd immunity for those who can’t be vaccinated. It is a social behaviour, not an individual one. You must know this, after the many discussions that have been had on Fluther about this topic.

Your question is presumably about flu, not colds – colds do not produce fever in adults.
I’m always shocked when adults don’t know that.

No, @JLeslie, my response does not imply that, I said repeatedly that I show what I believe to be a reasonable amount of consideration to others. You infer that because I am not as paranoid as you that I don’t care about others. An inappropriate inference.

I do what I can to protect myself from getting sick and protect others if I am sick. I don’t worry about catching a cold or illness because I know what I do to protect myself. I’d drive myself crazy if I worried about every bug around me working in the hospital. If I can keep myself healthy around some of the sickest patients in the hospital, I’m not worried about doing things differently to protect myself while at the store.

I agree flu vaccine helps with immunity in the population at large. I don’t think we can call it herd immunity, it probably doesn’t rise to that level.

No. Not even a little bit.

The problem is fever doesn’t mean anything, I’m afraid. People get fever for lots of reasons. I’m afraid it’s inappropriate to agree with this idea without medical background.

The flu vaccine definitely isn’t giving much herd immunity this year. CDC just announced 50% of the flu going around are not a match for the vaccine strains. It still helps, two strains are still a match I guess. They say it also helps make symptoms less severe even if you get the flu that has mutated and the vaccine doesn’t work well against it. I have my doubts about that.

I learned about this on the news this morning that one virus has mutated and they said it is one that can cause severe illness, but didn’t mention the strain, which I found curious. I wonder why the media didn’t say which one. Not that it matters much.

I looked up the strain that mutated and it isn’t H1N1 which I assume is in the vaccine this year, I remember reading a while back the vaccine this year is the same as last year, and H1N1 was very prevalent last year, it caused around half the flus last year if I remember correctly. So, you would still have protection for H1N1, which they have said is very important for young children.

I’m also guessing the flu that mutated isn’t unusually dangerous, just normal dangerous.