Hey everyone! My wife and I are planning a trip to Japan this spring. She has an autoimmune disorder that elevates her body temperature. It is normal for her temperature to be around 99.0 to 99.5.
I’ve seen that temperature checks are somewhat common in Japan as a covid prevention measure.
Will this be much of an issue? Should we reconsider our plans? Would a doctor’s note help?
Thanks!
5 comments
At the airport it might be. Make sure she has some documentation for airport officials if need be.
In stores or restaurants, it won’t be an issue. Most of the temp checks are inaccurate and show a lower value than your usual body temp. My average temp is right at 37. But when I check my temp at a business, it usually shows between 35.3-36.5.
The slightly more amoral option would be to cool off her forehead right before known scans. If you wipe a little bit of water on your forehead a minute pre check, it should evaporate and cool your skin by half a degree
I’m here in Japan right now and never got our temp checked when we came or in any store what so ever.
99.5 is only 37.5 so I don’t think you’ll set off any alarms. But it wouldn’t hurt to carry a doctor’s note with you.
My experience with temperature checks in the US (RN, so had to get checked every day before work for ages) is that the cheap IR thermometers and the tablet or phone based ones consistently read low, so you are probably fine. For airports or amusement parks that have fancy thermal scanners their threshold is likely quite a bit higher than 99.5, because that’s within the normal range for babies. If tylenol or other otc medication works to lower her temp she could always take a dose before the plane lands to be safe.