Effect of Ingested Fluid Temperature on Basal Body Temperature in Humans

Abstract The objective: I wanted to know if the temperature of ingested fluids affects orally measured body temperature in humans. I believed it would affect basal body temperature because when people feel hot or cold, they often drink fluids of the opposite temperature. Methods/Materials First I took the temperatures of 32 people, in degrees Fahrenheit, using a digital thermometer and a new cover slip. Then I asked them to drink one of three liquids, which were all at different temperatures. Ten minutes after they were done, I used a new cover slip and retook their temperatures. Each of my volunteers had to drink all three liquids, but only one liquid per day. When I was done collecting all of my data, I created a scatter plot for each liquid, and compared the before and after temperatures with a Y- X line. Results Most of the people who drank the hot liquid, 64%, had a temperature increase. Most of the people who drank cold liquid, 81%, had a temperature decrease. Most of the control group, 94%, experienced some temperature change. Conclusions/Discussion The reason some of my data shows that some body temperatures responded differently than I expected may be because I made an error in measuring their temperatures. For example, I did not expect that a body temperature would rise if a person drank cold liquid. Also, many of my participants were moving during the ten minutes between their two temperature measurements, which probably caused their temperatures to change. I think testing more people would allow me to draw better conclusions from my data, and using an ear thermometer may work as a more accurate measurement of temperature. This project was to find out if the temperature of ingested fluids affects orally measured body temperature in humans.