5 Nonessential Items I Bring when Hospitalized

If I know I'm going to be hospitalized there are 5 items I make sure I bring with me.  Some may seem silly, but they all contribute to a more comfortable stay.

1. Safety pins : I go to the VA hospital where we patients
are given “pajamas” instead of a gown to wear. Problems arise if the fly-snaps on the bottoms are worn out making them unable to fasten well.

I’ve had occasions when, while walking the hospital corridor, the fly-snaps suddenly gave way leaving the elastic waistband free to rapidly yank my fly wide open!. When this happened I couldn’t reach for my drawers fast enough!  They all too quickly fell to  my ankles.

So you see a safety pin or two will always be carried with me when I think I’ll become an in-patient.!

2. Cuetips: That’s right, cuetips. Do you know how frustrating it is to be someplace where you can’t swab your ears with a cuetip? When I get desperate, with out cuetips, there is no telling what objects might be shoved in my ear. 

3. Nail clippers:  Have you ever asked a nurse for nail clippers? You might as well ask the nurse to get you a Straight Razor.

4. Lip balm: In the hospital, my lips have dried out like worms crossing the highway at noon in the Mojave' Desert. Hospitals keep the air so conditioned that the humidity is very low. Therefore, I always keep lip balm on my packing list.

5. Tabasco or Hot Sauce: Yes, I bring my Louisiana Supreme hot sauce to the hospital. I learned in the army that otherwise unappetizing food can be made more palatable with a couple shakes of hot sauce.

Staying at hospitals can always be made a little easier with the “not so essential” items. That said, consider this post and then decide what your own are.