Sometimes, friends or relatives might be admitted to the hospital due to certain diseases. At that time, you may want to visit them. In Asian society, we believe that most people's ideal gift for visiting the sick is fruit, especially expensive fruits. In their views, expensive fruits means more value on body supplement. However, is it true? From a medical professional's point of view, what is the advice?

Considering this issue, we should first clarify that this gift is mainly for the patient or the caregiver? For different objects, the points that need to be considered will not be the same. The following is the analysis:

[Recommended options for gifts while visiting the sick]

Gift for the patient

Generally speaking, the gift is usually given to the patient. Food, might be the most popular choice. But we also know that the patient will need to receive several medical treatments during hospitalization. As mentioned in the previous article 【Dietary taboos for taking medicine】, food-drug interaction may affect the effect of drugs.

Therefore, if you want to pick some food as gifts for the sick, it is recommended thatplease avoid food with common food-drug interactions(such as:Grapefruit, star fruit, oranges, cranberries, calcium tablets, wine, etc.). In addition, due to the lack of understanding of the patient’s condition and medication, it is recommended toask the medical staff whether there are foods that should be avoided due to the interaction with the treatment.

In fact, we recommends that patients should follow the recommendations of clinical dietitians and adjust their diets according to their conditions, instead of eating whatever they want. So when it comes to the gifts for visiting the sick, we suggest thatyou should consider buying non-food gifts, such asBooks, 3C products (It is recommended to use headphones/earphones to avoid annoying other patients), etc. On the one hand, it will let the patient have more entertainments in the monotonous medical environment. On the other hand, it has no effect on the medical treatment.

Gift for the caregiver

During the patient’s hospitalization, the caregiver was very tired. In addition to the need to assist the patient from time to time, the sleeping area of the caregiver is usually only a small accompanying bed, which is never said to be comfortable. Therefore, preparing a gift for the caregiver is very considerate.

As mentioned above, although the caregiver is not sick, the quality of life of the caregiver will be greatly reduced during the hospitalization. The sound from the neighboring patient will continue to make the spirit tense, and the narrow accompanying bed will reduce the quality of sleep. While preparing the gift for the caregiver, the followings are good choices, such as:headphones/earphones/earplugs/earmuffs which can reduce the impact of environmental noise during the rest of the caregiver (but if you are worried that it will make the caregiver difficult to hear the patient's abnormality in time, it is recommended not to wear it), a combination of a pillow and a quilt which can make the accompanying bed more comfortable, and delicious foods (if the caregiver is also taking medication, you still need to pay attention to it).

Of course, consolation money may also be a good way. You don't have to worry about too many possible problems mentioned above.