Items to Bring to Help You Look Great in a Hospital Bed

Nobody’s at their best while they’re hospitalized. Hospitals aren’t for healthy people! But sometimes, friends and family (or in the worst case, photographers for a local newspaper) want to come and visit you while you’re there. If you don’t care about your looks very much, you won’t need my help, although it’s always nicer to have your visitors say ‘You look great!’ rather than ‘You poor thing!’. But if you’re the sort of person who hates to be seen with dirty uncombed hair, or no makeup on, I’ve got some helpful tips and tricks for surviving a hospital stay in style and comfort.

If you’re just in for a day, the worst a hospital can do to you isn’t too bad; but giving birth to a baby may mean a lot of visitors and photographs. If you expect to be in a hospital bed for a few days or more, it’s a good idea to pack some extra items and prepare ahead of time in order to look and feel as nice as possible. If you end up hospitalized without warning, or that overnight becomes a very long weekend, some of these ideas may help if you can get someone to bring items from home, the gift shop, or a local drug store for you.

Every hospital is different. Privately funded hospitals have all kinds of goodies and services, just like a good hotel would; on the other hand, the last time I went to visit someone at City-County General, they didn’t even have tissues! If you’re at all picky about your personal care items, I suggest you bring your own. If the hospital doesn’t have a big selection in the gift shop, there’s almost always a nearby drug store – ask any of the employees where to go. The nearby drug store may be a better bet for some hard-to-find items which come in handy during or after a hospital stay.

Keeping Clean: