Vital Signs
VITAL SIGNS
I. TEMPERATURE
a. Ranges of Temperature in certain conditions
a.i. Oral core or Body Temperature
a.i.1. Normal Range - 96.8 ⁰F – 99.3 ⁰F
- 36 ⁰C – 37.3 ⁰C
a.ii. Rectal Temperature
a.ii.1. Normal Range - 97.8 ⁰F – 100.3 ⁰F
a.iii. Fever
a.iii.1. Temperature - above 78.6 ⁰F or above 37.6 ⁰C
a.iv. Pyrexic
a.iv.1. Temperature - greater than 100 ⁰F or greater than 37 ⁰C
a.v. Hyperpyrexic
a.v.1. Temperature - 108 ⁰F or 41.1 ⁰C
b. Factors affecting body Temperature
b.i. Time of Day
b.i.1. Temperature decrease in the morning and increase in the afternoon
b.ii. Age
b.ii.1. Slightly low in old person and slightly high in young ones
b.iii. Environmental Temperature
b.iii.1. If environment is hot or cold
b.iv. Infection
b.iv.1. Increase when there is fever
b.v. Physical Activity
b.v.1. Increase when doing physical activity
b.vi. Emotional Status
b.vi.1. Very stressed, hysterical, sad
b.vii. Site of measurement
b.vii.1. Oral
b.vii.2. Axillary
b.vii.3. Rectal
b.viii. Menstrual Cycle
b.viii.1. Female (menopause)
b.ix. Oral Cavity Temperature
b.ix.1. Depends if you ingested something hot or cold
c. Location or Site of Measurement
c.i. ORAL
c.i.1. Most common and most convenient
c.ii. RECTAL
c.ii.1. Most accurate
c.iii. AXILLARY
c.iii.1. Most common site in home setting
d. Types of Thermometer
d.i. Ear Thermometer
d.i.1. 9 volts battery required
d.ii. Oral Electric Thermometer
d.ii.1. Has a probe connected to a small rectangular unit
d.iii. Glass (Mercury) Thermometer
d.iii.1. A bulb containing mercury at one end of a glass tube
d.iii.2. Calibrated in degrees
II. PULSE
a. Range
a.i. Adult - 60 – 100 BPM
a.ii. Newborn - 100 – 130 BPM
a.iii. Child 1 – 7 y.o. - 80 – 120 BPM
b. Assessment of Pulse
b.i. Rate – number of BPM
b.ii. Rhythm – intervals between beats (regular or constant)
b.iii. Volume – amount of blood pushed through the artery
b.iii.1. HIGHER VOLUME – Pulse is bounding & difficult to be
I. TEMPERATURE
a. Ranges of Temperature in certain conditions
a.i. Oral core or Body Temperature
a.i.1. Normal Range - 96.8 ⁰F – 99.3 ⁰F
- 36 ⁰C – 37.3 ⁰C
a.ii. Rectal Temperature
a.ii.1. Normal Range - 97.8 ⁰F – 100.3 ⁰F
a.iii. Fever
a.iii.1. Temperature - above 78.6 ⁰F or above 37.6 ⁰C
a.iv. Pyrexic
a.iv.1. Temperature - greater than 100 ⁰F or greater than 37 ⁰C
a.v. Hyperpyrexic
a.v.1. Temperature - 108 ⁰F or 41.1 ⁰C
b. Factors affecting body Temperature
b.i. Time of Day
b.i.1. Temperature decrease in the morning and increase in the afternoon
b.ii. Age
b.ii.1. Slightly low in old person and slightly high in young ones
b.iii. Environmental Temperature
b.iii.1. If environment is hot or cold
b.iv. Infection
b.iv.1. Increase when there is fever
b.v. Physical Activity
b.v.1. Increase when doing physical activity
b.vi. Emotional Status
b.vi.1. Very stressed, hysterical, sad
b.vii. Site of measurement
b.vii.1. Oral
b.vii.2. Axillary
b.vii.3. Rectal
b.viii. Menstrual Cycle
b.viii.1. Female (menopause)
b.ix. Oral Cavity Temperature
b.ix.1. Depends if you ingested something hot or cold
c. Location or Site of Measurement
c.i. ORAL
c.i.1. Most common and most convenient
c.ii. RECTAL
c.ii.1. Most accurate
c.iii. AXILLARY
c.iii.1. Most common site in home setting
d. Types of Thermometer
d.i. Ear Thermometer
d.i.1. 9 volts battery required
d.ii. Oral Electric Thermometer
d.ii.1. Has a probe connected to a small rectangular unit
d.iii. Glass (Mercury) Thermometer
d.iii.1. A bulb containing mercury at one end of a glass tube
d.iii.2. Calibrated in degrees
II. PULSE
a. Range
a.i. Adult - 60 – 100 BPM
a.ii. Newborn - 100 – 130 BPM
a.iii. Child 1 – 7 y.o. - 80 – 120 BPM
b. Assessment of Pulse
b.i. Rate – number of BPM
b.ii. Rhythm – intervals between beats (regular or constant)
b.iii. Volume – amount of blood pushed through the artery
b.iii.1. HIGHER VOLUME – Pulse is bounding & difficult to be