Patient Go-Bag

Patient Go-bag

Whether you are dealing with a patient who has a chronic illness and requires frequent hospitalizations, or if it is your first time to the emergency room, there are lots of things that you can bring to make the patients admission easier. One of the things we learned was to have a designated bag that was pre-packed with a few essentials.

1. Medication list – you can never have too many lists. Make sure you make note of all medications the patient is taking, including over the counter, or topical/eye medications. Asprin? Miralax? Vitamin B? Calcium? Ecinecha? All prescriptions. Make sure you have them all written down because you never know what may interact with the treatment the hospital provides.
   Also, make multiple copies. In my experience, medical providers like to keep the medication lists. So just make multiple copies to make everyone’s life easier.  You can find a downloadable file HERE to use.
2. Glasses/contacts – Many elderly have at least glasses, and may need them to sign consent forms or watch tv. If the patient has contacts then it is really important to bring the things they need to take care of them. Contact case, eye solution, maybe even a spare set of contacts.
3. Dentures/mouth guard/etc – Dentures! Depending on the circumstances of when you have to go to the hospital, they may not have their dentures in. Just make sure you grab them. Also, grab polident or fixident, and any containers they use.  This category also applies to any other dental needs. I personally wear mouth guard because I grind my teeth. If I don’t wear it, I break teeth, so it is really important that I have it every night.  Are there retainers or head gear? If you think it’s going to be more than 24 hours, these things are important.

If you are dealing with a chronic illness, then there may be a few extra things that you can throw in your go-bag which are there to help make the visit more comfortable. They are less “important” but still have value.

4. Lotions / powders – It might not be a great idea to have lots of perfumes, but if the patient likes to use gold bond powder every day or use St. Ives lotion, then bring it. Let’s be honest, the lotion in the hospital is mainly water. It doesn’t do much moisturizing. And Gold Bond is FANTASTIC for fighting off fungal skin infections which is common when someone spends a lot of time sedentary.
5. Hair brush/ toiletries – q-tips, facewash, toothpaste – The hospital technically provides some toiletries. But if this is about creating an environment for the patient to recover and concentrate on healing, then don’t you want them to be comfortable. If they have a favorite facewash, or a nightly routine of using oil of o’lay, then just keep an extra bottle in the go bag. Put an extra hair brush a baggie of q-tips, and their favorite products in the bag, and you will be surprised how big of a difference it can make.
6. Book – Hospitals can be boring. No one wants to be bed ridden with nothing to do. So bring their favorite book, or coloring book. Keep their mind occupied with positive thoughts instead of dwelling on the what-ifs of what is going on the results of tests. One of the things that I found helpful with my grandmother was audio books of Joel Osteen. We would listen to chapters and talk about the lessons. It was particularly helpful given that the lessons are all about overcoming challenges. I have friends that may turn to healing stones and music instead of religion. Whatever you need to create a positive, comfortable environment.
7. Pillow or blanket – Let’s be real, those hospital pillows are not the greatest. If your patient is uncomfortable or cannot sleep without their favorite blanket, then bring it in. It can make a big difference. If the patient is on edge or uncomfortable, it can affect their blood pressure, their nervous system may kick into fight mode, they won’t get as much sleep etc. So you can bring a blanket, or a pillow from home, then that is an easy comfort fix.
8. Air deodorizer – Some chronic illnesses that require hospitalizations can be … odorous. One thing that I found helpful was to stock up on the Yankee Candle “Fragrance Spheres”. They are odor eliminating beads that are available in neutral scents like apple or clean linen. They aren’t as strong as a spray, but they provide a lot of relief.  And you can bring a ziplock bag to put it in if you don’t need it. Also consider, that it may not be your patient that has the odor issue. Maybe the roommate has issues. Either way, if you bring these, it can help.

If you are looking to create a go bag to help with frequent hospitalizations, you can click here for a download checklist to create your bag.

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