Sweat Shop

[abbaking]

I am a large guy....Big enough to lose weight but that requires time, effort, energy, and money - none of which I have. That said, I sweat alot. I like it to be cool - 70 is fine with me. For some reason my coworkers like it at 100 with jackets and sweaters. They turn up the thermostat to 85....Not good. Last thing I need when I am working is to sweat buckets, run all over the unit and wear those hideous ISO gowns on top of being a sweaty fatcrack.

I have my own fan i brought in and that helps alot....I just do not see how anyone can be cold when its 90 outside and 75 inside....

Perhaps sitting in one place for extended periods may get someone cold, but I would not know cause I am on the go.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

suggest covers on thermostats....this would also be a cost control issue.... good luck

[rollyp80]

I also think keeping the thermostat that warm promotes the growth and habitation of microorganisms......no?

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

Wrap a cold pack around your neck as you work. It looks funny but feels great.

[EmergencyNrse]

A heat pack to the thermostat sensors help. Especially when it's the pencil-thin chick with anemia and Raynaud's that's in control of the thermostat.

[RNperdiem, RN]

I am a skinny chick who likes a toasty room.

My unit secretaries are menopausal ladies who check the thermostat first thing in their day.

I wear layers so I can stay warm and the others can stay comfortable.

I will keep patient rooms warm for certain patients. When I did a stint in the burn center when pregnant, I understood what wearning plastic gowns for dressing changes in an 85 degree room did for sweating.

[Lacie, BSN, RN]

Enviromental temp control should be for pts not the staff. I understand your feelings as I'm a skinny gal but I am required to wear full PPE (gown, shoe covers, gloves, mask) for much of my shifts and know how hot it can get with sweat running into my eyes. I used to get on my staff for adjusting the thermostat for thier comfort when my patients were freezing or the opposite roasting. I dont want staff dropping in thier tracks either due to heat exhaustion. Find a happy medium (I had my staff meeting with all agreeing to one specific temp) and leave it there. Compromise can help alot.

[GilaRRT]

Enviromental temp control should be for pts not the staff. I understand your feelings as I'm a skinny gal but I am required to wear full PPE (gown, shoe covers, gloves, mask) for much of my shifts and know how hot it can get with sweat running into my eyes. I used to get on my staff for adjusting the thermostat for thier comfort when my patients were freezing or the opposite roasting. I dont want staff dropping in thier tracks either due to heat exhaustion. Find a happy medium (I had my staff meeting with all agreeing to one specific temp) and leave it there. Compromise can help alot.

Agreed, thermoregulation is for the benefit of the patients. Hypothermia is associated with many negative consequences. Coagulopathies, shivering, and altercation of the oxyhemoglobin curve are all problems associated with hypothermia. Therefore, it is critical to keep patients normothermic. This is especially true of trauma patients and patients with multisystem problems. Hypothermia is so critical, it is included the trauma triad of death.

[leslie :-D]

I also think keeping the thermostat that warm promotes the growth and habitation of microorganisms......no?

see, those are my thoughts as well.

i despise the heat.

i hate sweating and feeling suffocated.

even in the winter, i have windows cracked open, to ensure those nasty germs can escape.

i'm totally with you on that, rollyp.:)

and also agree that the thermostat needs to be regulated by an official thermostat adjuster.

leslie

[nursemike, ASN, RN]

A number of my coworkers are women about my age. I love them, but it can be an adventure.

I remember in school being just about the only one who didn't agree that men go through menopause. (I'm right, by the way.) We do, typically, have a long, steady decline in testosterone, rather than an abrupt drop. We can, I have to admit, get a little nutty around midlife, but that's more psychological than physiological.

I do note, however, that I've been having intermittent "chills," and "hot flashes," except that these seem to correlate very precisely with the ambient room temperature, which lately tends to fluctuate wildly. And yes, I've been noticing some mood swings--I tend to be a bit more irritable when it's 85 degrees indoors and 65 outdoors.

Oh, well. At least I have reached the age where marrying a 20 year old would be an expected behaviour. And with any luck at all, she could be partying on my life insurance when she reached "the change."

[*ac*]

I am pretty much always hot at work. There is a separate thermostat in the break/report room that has no effect on pts. This is about us. I wear scrubs with no cami/undershirt or anything. There is nothing I can take off. People who are cold, can add layers, so I believe the thermostat should be set for the hottest people.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

peace in my office after maintenance installed at my request....

$15.00 device honeywell universal locking thermostat guards

moved thermastat away from copier machines + reassigned desks space ...worked to regain peace ...key kept in my desk drawer for emergency battery replacement.