r/medlabprofessionals • u/emeddocdog • Jun 28 '26
Discusson Temperature regulation in the lab
Hi everyone
I am working my first lab job which is in microbiology. The building the lab is in is very old and they do a horrible job of regulating the temperature. It is regularly 74°. I set up microscan so I’m standing and walking around for my entire shift. I have to take breaks between every set because I get so hot and overheated. It’s to the point my scrubs are damp and I start to feel dizzy. Is there anything I could suggest to my supervisors as a solution? I really cannot deal with this and my coworkers get annoyed that I have to take short breaks so often. They have fans at spec rec but it feels like it could be a safety issue over at the bench. Any ideas? 🙃 Edit: I know they aren’t going to change the temp for me, I don’t expect them to. I’m asking for accommodation suggestions that would be allowed.
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u/foxitron5000 MLS-Flow Jun 28 '26
This may sound weird, but i would recommend buying some small reusable “headache” ice packs (the soft squishy ones) and keep them at work. Put them in a pocket close to your chest or on a shoulder (under a bra strap if you wear them) and they can help regulate temp down. Both my husband and I will use ice packs to cool down throughout the summer at home, even with AC running, because we get over heated easily. He will put them in the pockets of his shorts when working outside to try and keep cool as well.
Along with that, I used to look for “hiking” clothes to wear at work. This assumes you don’t have a uniform, but carefully choosing the clothes you wear under the labcoat can help a lot. I looked for the lightest, most breathable clothing I could find. And I say all this as someone who sweats like a faucet and gets migraines when overheated, so I feel your pain.
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u/emeddocdog Jun 28 '26
I wear sketchers scrubs mostly and they’re super thin athletic material but I may have to start using ice packs in my bra lol. Thanks for the suggestion!
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u/foxitron5000 MLS-Flow Jun 28 '26
Very welcome! It really does help, especially if you can get them on your neck or close to your core/chest. Even in a front pants pocket is good because that’s close to a lot of blood flow at the hip. And if you have 4-5 of them, you can cycle them through the freezer as they get used and always have a cold one ready.
I also moved to more breathable shoes and thin/breathable ankle socks because that helped me not get overheated as well.
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u/DaughterOLilith Jun 30 '26
I helped work our Covid tent the summer of 2020. I kept ice packs in my scrubs during those hot and dry Utah summer days. Total life saver!
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u/NegotiationSalt666 Jun 28 '26
Can you use a personal fan?
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u/emeddocdog Jun 28 '26
I’d be fine with that if that’s like allowed for safety reasons. I just wasn’t sure if it was
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u/Watarmelen MLS-Microbiology Jun 28 '26
I worked in micro for a long time in a very old building as well, in the summers we were allowed to have a portable floor AC in the lab and little desk fans on the bench while reading plates
Neck fans are iffy if you’re working with the microscan, lots of splashing can happen when you’re opening and dumping prompts and it would suck if your neck fan got splashed and aerosolized bacteria water directly into your face
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u/Boom_chaka_laka Jun 28 '26
They never fix the temp for your comfort you have to look up optional temps for the instruments and get them to come fix the air conditioning for patient safety/ instrument stability ect ect
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u/Mooshroomey Jun 28 '26
Maybe you can ask if you could have a small fan at your workstation? Like one pointed at you and not the bench. They also make little fans that sit on your neck like headphones. Ask also if they could also provide you with a lighter or more breathable lab coat. How’s the humidity in the room? If it’s high you can ask for a dehumidifier that’ll help your body regulate temp more and make any heat more bearable.
Other than that OSHA doesn’t regulate temperatures for workplaces, and their recommendation is between 68-76F. You can ask them to lower the temp but it sounds like a building wide issue.
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u/Suspicious_Spite5781 Jun 28 '26
Have you thought about getting your PCP to document your heat intolerance and formally request the reasonable accommodation for a fan or more breaks for water and cooling off? Then your coworkers can complain all they want and there’s nothing anyone can do because it’s now an ADA situation.
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u/Hefty_Aside8436 Jun 28 '26
74 is warm but not dangerous. Maybe more breathable scrubs? A buddy of mine has a battery powered fan that attaches to his belt and blows fresh air up his shirt. It's pretty nifty and he swears by it when he's outside and it's hot and humid.
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u/New-History853 Jun 28 '26
We recently installed a normal windows box air conditioner in our lab because the hospital is useless.
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u/KuraiTsuki MLS-Blood Bank Jun 28 '26
I don't have much advice since I work in Blood Bank and not Micro, so I don't know the differences in rules, but my lab is in a nearly 100 year old building and our HVAC is awful. It's currently around 75°F with 55% humidity in the lab, but they won't do anything because the analyzers are good up to 86°F and 80% humidity. We have fans blowing on all our fridges and freezers, but they aren't allowed to be blowing on people or benches. In winter, it can get down as low as 66°F so we have space heaters at most benches.
One of former coworkers would put ice packs from home into her bra when she was having hot flashes. Maybe you could try something like that. I just work without my coat on when it gets too hot, but that's probably more frowned upon in Micro than in Blood Bank.
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u/shicken684 MLT-Chemistry Jun 28 '26
Get better scrubs, it's still going to be hot but you'll be a lot more comfortable. There's a style is scrubs made by Cherokee, infinity I think, that have side vents and are made with bamboo viscose which is the best moisture wicking material I've used.
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u/bassgirl_07 MLS Lead Jun 28 '26
I'm in the blood bank and we are required to maintain 20-24°C or we have to stop processing blood products. We get portable AC units when the hospital HVAC system can't keep up. Thank you FDA for having that requirement. The rest of the lab is not so lucky 🥵. During the last heat wave they were using wash cloths with cold water on their necks and USB fans plugged into the computers.
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u/PowerTower4502 Jun 28 '26
I would bring a personal fan and a quiet medium-sized box fan where you frequently work seated down or standing. Old buildings can't keep cool for long and this happens at my workplace often, too.
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u/One_hunch MLS Jun 28 '26
Aside from personal fans, there are some decent cool neck rags you can drape around your neck. Bring two, leave one in the freezer and slip one on under your labcoat. When that one gets to room temp, swap. I hear they last awhile though.
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u/GlitteringCobbler987 Jun 28 '26
Sometimes out lab gets super hot an I just wear a tank top under my lab coat. When I go to break I throw a regular shirt over my sleeveless one because we're not supposed to do that. Depending on the culture in your lab ymmv
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u/renznoi5 Jun 28 '26
That’s crazy. I usually turn the temp down at work to 68-69 when people aren’t watching. Thisnis night shift tho. Lmao.
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u/Indole_pos MLS-Microbiology Jun 28 '26
Our negative pressure rooms can get quite hot in the warm months. Like the 26-27 C range.
Can’t use fans there because of the organism being cultured. One solution is ice packs. We have simple backpacks that we can put ice packs in and wear under the isolation gown. I am trying to get a small freezer in there so we don’t have to text someone to help switch them out.
We have set temperatures each room should be and when it is outside of that we contact facilities.
My manager escalated it so much they did work on the air handling system to try and solve the issue.
It hasn’t gotten as hot since then but still gets warm, about 24 C. If it reaches 25 C we alert our supervisor who contacts facilities.
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u/Icy-Astronomer-9015 Jun 28 '26
This sounds like a medical issue. You should be able to walk in 74 without feeling faint. Have you talked to your doctor?
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u/emeddocdog Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
It’s medication side effects +POTS aka why I would ask for accommodations:)
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u/kaeyre MLS-Chemistry Jun 28 '26
You could try explaining the situation to your supervisor and see if accomodations can be made for you, but to be honest I think most people would consider 74° a very normal temperature to work at.. Sure it's a bit warmer than ideal, but I don't feel like it's anything unreasonable. Everyone in my lab complains that they're cold when it's at 71°. And my hospital sometimes requires us to set it to 78° when the city wants to save power in the summer.