We’re answering your questions about the pandemic. Send yours to COVID@cbc.ca and we’ll answer as many as we can. We’ll publish a selection of answers every weekday online, and also put some questions to the experts during The National and on CBC News Network.
We’re breaking down what you need to know about the pandemic. Send us your questions via email at COVID@cbc.ca and we’ll answer as many as we can. We’ll publish a selection of answers every weekday on our website, and we’re also putting some of your questions to the experts on the air during The National and on CBC News Network. So far we’ve received more than 46,000 emails from all corners of the country.
Will my hot flash set off a temperature check?
Temperature screening is becoming more common in stores and other spaces, and at the airport it’s mandatory. That has readers like Arsalan S. worried that hot flashes or just being sweaty will set off thermometers.
But experts say this isn’t something people need to worry about.
“Usually people who are a little sweaty from walking through an airport or people who are having hot flashes don’t actually mount a true fever,” said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, infectious disease specialist with University Health Network.
This means: if you’re experiencing some sort of perspiration or hot flashes, a temperature check shouldn’t suggest you have a fever — unless you actually do.
Typically, a fever or high temperature is a sign that your body is fighting off some type of bacterial or viral infection.
That said, many people with COVID-19 infections will not have a fever and may even be asymptomatic.
WATCH | We are 100 days into the pandemic; what the next 100 days might look like:
The first 100 days of the COVID-19 pandemic saw self-isolation orders, shortages of protective gear, and too much pain and suffering. Health experts warn the next 100 days could see a second wave and ineffective vaccines. 2:04
Bogoch said the use of temperature checks is for “optics,” si