How to Stay Cool in the Kitchen: MiniTip XVIII

TL;DR

Here are some tips for keeping cool when you are in the kitchen:

1. Sit when you can
2. Open a window if it’s cool outside
3. Bring a fan into the kitchen and sit by it
4. Put ice packs on your neck and wrist

Tip Expanded

When you are chronically ill, lots of things can go wrong with your body. For me, that means that I have anhidrosis caused by small fiber peripheral neuropathy. That means that I don’t sweat because my nerves are either dead or dying.

So, this leaves me susceptible to heat-related illnesses like heat stroke or heat exhaustion. I’ve already had the heat exhaustion once and I don’t want to do it again. I had like I had a fever (from hot to cold to hot to cold) for 4 straight days after I got didn’t do anything after I got overheated and dehydrated.

Cooking, therefore, is a difficult thing to do safely for me because there is a lot of heat. So, here are a few tips that I try to use to keep myself cool.

Sit when you can

My first MiniTip was all about this. When you sit, you don’t build up as much body heat and you are also not directly in front of a heat source that may cause problems.

Open a window if it’s cool outside

I live in Minnesota, and a lot of the year is cold here, so I can open a window to cool down the room and myself. The one flaw of this technique is that it will probably slow down the cooking process if you are using the stove. But if I had to choose between heat stroke/exhaustion and taking a bit longer cooking, I’ll cake the bit longer cooking.

Bring a fan into the kitchen

No, not someone who is really into you. I apologize for that ridiculous joke and promise to never do it again. I guess you could bring someone who is really into you into the kitchen when you cook, but I was talking about a fan that blows air at you and you can say “Luke, I am your father” into. Bringing a fan into the kitchen and setting it up right by your chair will help you keep cool.

Here’s a tip for those who have dry eyes, position the fan so it is not facing you directly or keep your eyes closed while it is blowing directly on you. I say this because fans can really dry out your eyes, which you kind of need to be able to use when cooking.

Put ice packs on your neck and wrist

If you have tried these tips and they aren’t working for you, then try using some ice packs. I have found that putting cold water or an ice pack on my wrist can help cool me down much quicker than putting the water on my face or neck. There are also cooling vests that I haven’t been able to afford, but they are vests that you put ice packs into and they can help keep you cool while you cook.

So, ultimately, try these tips, try some of your own ideas to keep yourself cool in the kitchen if you need to. If you don’t, then ignore everything that I’ve said because it probably doesn’t apply to you. But whether or not you need to keep yourself cool or not, enjoy cooking.

One final thing, you might find a strategy that works for you in any aspect of cooking that everyone else finds crazy or illogical. But if it works for you, do it. Because there are many ways of doing every task, so find the way that works for you and do you.