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I notice there is usually a two degree difference between my digital scale and my bottle's reading. i guess because the temp has to go through plastic. So that means I should be more concerned about the temperature rather than the actual temp, right? Because I can keep the bottle warm thourghout the day at ~96.5 all day, but the bottle will say 94.
i feel this way because the lab's cup also use the crystal temps(i think thats what they're called neway)
Youre overthinking this a bit - while overlooking an important factor. What you really need to be concerned about is the temp drop after transferring the sample into the specimen cup. The temp drop can be anywhere from 2 - 8 degrees depending on the temp of the empty specimen cup.
There has been many cases where I have recieved the sample cup from a collector, and it felt like it had been stored in an ice box (because the facility had their A/C system jacked up on "high"). There was no question in my mind that even if my urine temp was at 98-99F out of my body, the temp wouldve dropped down to as low as 90F once its in the cup and all temp equalization was complete.
To overcome such a drastic temp drop, I "prewarm" the empty specimen cup by tucking it in my underarm as I open the bath stall door, unzipping, etc. And to prevent a further drop in temp, I grab several sheets of toilet paper and fab up a makeshift "coaster" to set the filled sample cup on as I zip my pants back up, etc.
The digital thermometers are really not necessary. The collection facilities use the temp strips to check the temp, and while they are not as accurate to the "nth" degree as a digital unit, they are obviously accurate enough to merit continued use by the facilities.
Just stick with the temp strip thats affixed to the bottle, so that would be one less item that you have to sneak inside the facility. And as far as the bottle temp, shoot for 98-100F so you can factor in the temp drop and equalization after you transfer from bottle to specimen cup.
If the collection cup temp is a little high blow on it to cool it down.
If the temp in the collection cup is a little low, rub your thumb against your clothes for a few seconds and then hold your thumb against the temp strip for a few seconds. When the temp says 98 walk out of the bathroom.