What qualifies as a fever when taking an infant's temperature under his arm? i've heard a variety of answers and am a little confused.

Axillary temp: Temp taken under the arm tends to be 0.3-0.4 degrees (fahrenheit) below those taken by mouth. Normal temp varies depending on gender, recent activity, food & fluid consumption, time of day, &, in women, the stage of the menstrual cycle. According to the ama, fever = body temperature above 98.6° f orally or 99.8° f rectally; so that would be about 98.2 - 98.3ºf axillary.

Me too.: In infants i prefer rectal temp.102.0 qualifies as a "temperature" this way.It is slightly higher than oral.I do not have great faith in the skin strips.