6 Hacks for a Hospital Stay

Hospitals often feel busy, even if you're sitting in the same bed for hours on end. Doctors always have other patients to visit and the nurses are constantly zipping in and out. This can add to the stress from being sick. To help you out, here are a few tricks to make your hospital stay a better experience:


1. Get comfy. If you're in the hospital, you're probably in a lot of pain. Getting as comfortable as possible is essential to stay in good spirits. Bring your pillow, blanket, iPod, and laptop for some comforts from home. Bonus fact: if your bed is uncomfortable, ask about a bed extension or bed pad (or a cotton blanket used as a pad), all of which are available at most hospitals.

2. Look good, feel good. If you don't get to keep up your usual shower routine, you can start to feel gross. Dry shampoo and baby wipes are life savers here. If visitors make you self-conscious, a little makeup could be nice, too. If you feel exposed in your gown, get an extra one to wear backward as a robe for extra coverage, or ask for scrub pants to wear under your gown.

3. Decorate. If you're in the hospital for more than a few days, decorations can help cheer you up. Check out Hospitals Redesigned on Pinterest for decorations from IV bag covers to feeding tube clips to wheelchair accessories.

4. Ask questions. Because doctors and nurses are used to the fast-paced environment of a hospital, they can easily forget to fully explain things, or they can skip over parts they find unimportant. If you ask, however, they will answer any questions you have. Many hospitals will even have Child Life Specialists to help prepare you for surgeries and other intimidating procedures. If they won't answer your questions to provide complete information, they aren't doing their jobs. Curiosity is acceptable.

5. Make friends. Bonding with patients who share a similar condition can help ease your stress, but you should also make friends with employees. For the most part, doctors and nurses are running around, stressed out. Cooperating and being polite can go a long way to strengthen your relationships with them. Who knows, maybe they'll have a minute to talk when you need it the most.

6. Therapy dogs. If all else fails and the hospital is stressing you out, ask a nurse or Child Life Specialist if any therapy or emotional support dogs do rounds Animals can relieve a lot of stress, especially if you're missing your own pets.

Bonus: Tape. This may seem like a weird thing to care about, but I was really curious about the various types of tape used in a hospital. Here's what I found:
Paper: tears easily and adheres lightly
Plastic: waterproof to hold dressings in place
Fabric: flexible and the most common for holding anything in place for more than a few minutes
Foam: almost like prewrap this won't stick to the skin, but will stretch to hold things in place