If you've been on a hospital ward recently...

[KenAdams]

...was it boiling or freezing? Wonder what to pack - I'm a naturally cold person and due to the nature of my surgery some of my normal clothing won't be suitable.

I'm also packing some noise cancelling headphones so I can sleep as I'm very sensitive to noise.

Anything else I'll need? I take it you need your own shampoo, shower gel and towel? No one has really told me what to bring it re personal items.

Headphones are a must.
phone charger, food, drinks.
All your own toiletries & towel.
comfy clothes, you don’t have to be in pjs just because you are in. Slippers or easy to slip on trainers.
A dressing gown, maybe a hoodie if you do get cold.

ps LOVE your name! Made me giggle 😃

All wards I have ever worked in have been boiling.

I was in hospital in July and I was freezing.

Yep I’ve been in on and off for the past two weeks.
I would suggest:
Eyemask ( lights are very annoying)
Antibacterial hand wipes. Baby wipes.
A decent face cream . Lip balm ( my lips got so dry)
Extra knickers , extra pyjamas.. ( take thin and thick - hospital temperatures, as well as your own, can change)
An easy sleeve access long sleeve cardigan ( those canulars can be very annoying and catch on clothing)
All your own toiletries
Hairbrush. Socks . Slippers.

Best of luck with your surgery.

The wards are generally warm but I couldn't sleep with just a blanket so I'd pack warm things!

Very, very warm. Took a fan in for my husband plus cotton pillowcase and sheet because they were nylon mix and very sweaty.
Second the headphones too. Food was surprisingly good and nourishing but understandably quite bland to cater for all so a pepper pot!

A sleep mask. The lights are never off. A power bank. Tissues.

Boiling.

• they insisted on slippers or slipper socks. No plain socks (slippy on smooth floors) or bare feet.
• moisturiser and lip balm
• the little squeezy squash bottles to flavour the ever present jug of warm water left by your bed
• some cash for the little shop if you can shuffle to it, the card machine kept breaking in ours so no cash, no trashy magazines and wine gums.
• long length chargers, plug sockets are all quite high up on the wall behind the bed
• if you will be generally OK and awake then plenty of stuff to kill time, tablet with access to downloaded films and TV, crossword book, knitting, crochet, manicure set so you can do your nails. Anything you can do from a bed to make the time move faster.

The ward I work on is uncomfortably hot in the day and absolutely freezing at night. So I'd say layers, of whatever you are comfortable in. Like a pp said it doesn't have to be nightwear but it absolutely can be if that's what you prefer

Your own towel and toiletries, a hairdryer if you plan on washing and drying your hair. The hospital will have them but they won't be nice. You might want you're own pillow /blankets too but not a duvet

Plastic sliders /flip flops that can get wet for when you get a shower (if your op allows you to shower afterwards obviously). The bathrooms do get cleaned every day but I certainly still wouldn't want to go barefoot in them, much like in a public swimming pool shower.

Lip balm and moisturiser, hospital air is very very drying

I was hotter than in hell - luckily they gave me a fan.

I preferred to wear "lounge wear" to feel less vulnerable so soft stretchy trousers and very tops. I found normal bras uncomfortable but soft crop tops were handy as I hate having no bra in public.

Flip flops for the shower, and slippers for nipping to the loo. The floors are not very tempting...

Headphones/ear buds, download loads of podcasts/audio books/music etc

Baby wipes/surface wipes, alcohol gel, tissues, insulated cup, chargers for everything, fluffy socks, eye mask/ear plugs, pen and paper, wide soft hairband to keep haor off your face, deodorant, dry shampoo

And whatever clothes you bring the nurses would really appreciate it if we could get to your bare upper arm easily so we can get a proper BP when we're doing your observations! Weather that's bare arms or a loose cardigan is fine, but you can't get an accurate reading over clothes and BP is pretty important post op! (will drop quickly if you have an unexpected bleed which is obviously pretty serious)

Not at all! It saves on your laundry. If I was hospitalised I would probably wear hospital pj's (though maybe not a gown if I was moblie). I live alone and the idea of a) other people doing my laundry and b) having to deal with all of the dirty laundry when I got home doesn't appeal at all.

I would bring a warm but loose cardigan /dressing gown though, again for the layers. It can get very cold at night.

They also give nice easy access to that upper arm!

It all gets boil washed between patients and we tend to bin anything really heavily soiled if we can. They are looked on as semi disposable. Same thing for the bedding

I would be more inclined to look down on relatives who insist their sick/ in pain/ has eleventy billion drips and wires hanging off them /frail family members be dressed in their own not hospital appropriate clothes than anyone wearing hospital stuff. It's designed the way it is for a reason

Cheap flip flops for the showers

I visited my mum in hospital today. It was boiling hot.

You will need toiletries and a towel. Comfy slippers and earphones may help keep out background noise. Phone charger and something to read or do.

Wow thank you! I'll have to work out how to fit all this into my rucksack! I didn't think I was allowed to take much more than that.

I've got some of those cloud slider things and some plane slippers I can take.

I'll likely be very tired and not very mobile for most of the time so a book, a phone and a craft should suffice.

I'm a bit concerned about how I'll shower and wash my hair - my hair is very very thick so it doesn't just dry on its own. Maybe I'll have DH bring a hairdryer in a couple of days after.

I'll wear a thick shawl in which can double up as an extra blanket if I need it.

Are you referring to PJs or a gown please? Just realised I've got lots of long sleeve PJs but could take it loungewear style tshirts instead I suppose.

I'm a bit concerned about how I'll shower and wash my hair - my hair is very very thick so it doesn't just dry on its own. Maybe I'll have DH bring a hairdryer in a couple of days after.

There were at least half a dozen plug sockets behind my husband’s bed on 3 different recent admissions, two different hospitals.

I was gobsmacked to find one of those hairdryer units with a flexible hose that you get in campsites in the shower room during my hospital stay in 2016 though, so you may not even need to use them.

Oh and an eye mask. The lights are still pretty bright at night. Understandly, staff need to be able to see what they’re doing, but it’s not conducive to sleep.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

I’ve been in hospital a hell of a lot in my life and I’ve understood a few things that mostly it’s boiling. Well maybe it’s just me that ends up with a temperature anyway that’s why I’m in hospital but even if I didn’t, I do find it hot.
now, if you’re lucky to get a side room like I have been quite a few times, you can have them windows wide open as much as you want. It always amuse me when the nurses would come in with cardigans on because I would like it a bit chilly and some would love it, cause it would cool down the corridor for them.
It’s the lights that bother me the like to wake you up dead early in the morning so if I could now, I think I would probably invest in a eye mask
if you like me, I would probably bring in some dilute juice because I cannot stand the water cause it stands there on your little table getting warm
Also, you might want to bring a few snacks in

Also in the hospital where I go to in most of the wards there isn’t even a TV not even in any of the individual rooms so I suggest you get your own iPad et cetera and take it in and download some TV apps

If it hasn’t already been mentioned, I’d say a kindle, as well as all the other things.
I also took an extension lead, so that everything I needed to charge was within easy reach.
If you're in for surgery, you need to keep warm, even though the wards are generally boiling, you might not be.