Fact check: Are contactless thermometers harmful to your health

New Delhi, Sep 04: A forward on WhatsApp claims that temperature guns or contactless thermometers are bad for the skin and can harm your health.

This is an important issue especially in these COVID-19 times when the use of such contactless thermometers form an important aspect in the fight against the pandemic. These thermometers thrive on contactless technology and use the infrared wave to measure temperature.

This technology processes heat by using a lens to focus light from one object to another. The thermopile in turn absorbs the infrared radiation and turns it into heat and this helps in telling the temperature of your skin.

The WhatsApp forward, which is also a topic of debate on the social media claims that these guns when pointed at the head impact sensory signals present beneath the skin. There is also a risk of chemical radiation, the message also claims.

However, this claims is untrue. The Malaysian Health Ministry had recently said that a non contact infrared thermometer is not a shooting device that emits radiation. It detects and emits heat emanating from the human body in the form of infrared rays and converts it to electricity, the ministry had noted.

This temperature gun is in fact a good way to check if one has fever without the fear of contamination. However one also has to bear in mind that the temperature guns to be used are the ones for human use and not industrial use.

Another important aspect one needs to bear in mind is that the thermometer has to be used correctly. It should be pointed at from a certain distance and also for the right amount of time.