Hot Enough for You?

The pair I tried from Wicking J. Sleepwear comes with a "water drop tester" and a note daring you to "place a drop of water on the Intera fabric and see how quickly the moisture evaporates." I put a dropper-full (does anyone sweat one drop?) of water on the pajamas, and 15 minutes later they were still damp. In spite of that, they're comfortable, wash well, and I like the style.

The same company is now marketing "the first 'Night Sweat Survival Kit' featuring a 'wicking' tank nightgown, a 'wicking' pillowcase and balance aromatherapy face, body & pillow mist." All for only $88.

The Chillow®. Designed to keep your head cool all night long, the Chillow is a bit smaller than a pillow in length and width and only about an inch high. On one side, it's got a vinyl-like material; on the other, a soft blue fabric. In the middle lies some dense, highly absorbent white stuff.

To activate the Chillow, you pour 10 cups of water into the white stuff, then wait two hours and haul it up to your bed. Presto, minutes after you put your head down, it feels quite cool. The ad says, "It's like sleeping in the shade with a gentle breeze." Since I generally sleep in the dark with air conditioning, it didn't seem like a huge improvement. But others, including Christiane Northrup, the OB-GYN author of "The Wisdom of Menopause" (Bantam Books, 2001), swear by it. "I love that thing," she told me. "I couldn't live without it." (www.soothsoft.com, $29.95)

(One safety tip from the manufacturer: "No Chillow fighting! Pillow fights while a Chillow is inside the pillowcase may cause serious injury to the person being struck.")

The layered look. From the sublime to the ridiculously obvious, women experiencing hot flashes learn to dress in layers. Pile them on in the morning; peel them off when the sweating starts. Northup said she's banished turtlenecks from her wardrobe forever. "It's 20 below here in Maine and I go into the car in a tank top," she said. (A sad irony: We've finally gotten the urge to take it all off just at the time when no one wants to see what's underneath?)

The freezer. And now to the subzero. My friend Janet Fingeret cools her hot flashes -- up to six a day for three years now -- by sticking her head in the freezer. Janet teaches reading at Marion Street Elementary School in Lynbrook, N.Y., in a classroom directly across from the faculty lounge. When the sweat starts popping, "all I do is just finish up what I'm doing and go open the freezer door. It really does work. It's the best thing for me."

The thermostat. When the freezer's not an option and moving to Alaska is impractical, take charge of the thermostat. Most experts agree that keeping the thermostat a few degrees cooler steadies a woman's core temperature, which may keep the heat away. According to the Menopause Society research summary, "Cooler air temperatures are associated with a lower incidence of hot flashes."

Pencil fans. When you've got no control over your environment, create a breeze any way you can. Use that folding fan your grandmother left you, make a fan out of that report on your desk or buy a little electric or battery-powered fan. I found some great options at The Preparedness Center's Web site (www.preparedness.com; motto: "Essentials for Your Survival"): the "pocket keychain fan," the "pen fan in fun colors," the "headwind visor fan with soft foam blades" and the "chilly bean clip-on cordless pocket fan." All are less than $15.

Things You Can Ingest

Tofu, tofu, tofu. If you've been bulking up on Tofutti and Tofu Pups and other soy-based foods to treat your hot flashes, you may want to cool it. The Menopause Society's analysis: "Randomized, controlled clinical trials have shown that, in general, hot flashes are only slightly reduced in women who consume soy-derived isoflavones [plant estrogens] when compared with controls." Then again, maybe you've learned to love soy lattes and edamame.