Have you ever been in the hospital as a patient or a visitor and you are looking at yourself or the patients and feel like you are vulnerable? I don’t know about you but for some strange reasons, as soon as I put that hospital gown on me, I feel sicker than I actually am. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like: “am I going to survive this?” Or as a visitor, I will look at the person I am visiting and pray that he/she will be well. Then, as a therapist, working with patients wearing their gowns, I started to realize where that odd feeling was coming from.

Let’s dive into the few reasons why the “sick feeling” sets in. First of all, let’s take a look at the traditional gowns. They are usually a light blue, grey, or soft olive color. The walls of the hospital are usually white to promote better vision, I am sure, and to also portray cleanliness and sterility. The contrast of colors between the gowns and the hospital surfaces is enough to make one feel lonely. That’s my personal opinion. I have had patients who automatically feel revived as soon as someone pulls the curtain or the blinds to let the sun in.

Secondly, let’s go a little bit over the style of the gowns. All of them come in one style. Opening in the back with strings to tie it to give it some kind of an enclosed look. But they rarely tie it to give the patient full coverage in the backside. That’s where the second “sick feeling” comes in. I don’t know about you, but I always feel like I lost my sense of body control. If you are in pain or just have surgery and you are trying to manage whatever you are dealing with Healthwise, trying to cover up your backside maybe the last thing on your mind. 

 For a modesty-conscious person like me, as a patient, I find myself trying to also manage my gown to hide my body part. Then I get stressed if I am asked to go for a walk in the hallway while I am pushing on the IV pole if I have one and perhaps carrying a catheter bag. So then, how am I to manage my poorly covered butts? That’s when my third reason of “sick feeling” shows up. I then feel very vulnerable because I have no say so on how I should dress to hit the hallway for a walk. 

How do they fix my problem though? Because they do try to solve the issue. Well, if someone is not too busy enough and happens to realize that we are exposed back there, he/she will come with another gown and put it on us backward so that the front will cover our backside. Does it work for the moment? Of course. Is this solution available at all times? No. Then what do we do to have something that can be a fixer for this continuous problem?

Well, that’s where I came up with my third style: for female only, front enclosure with ties on the side wrap gown. If you are a girlie girl, you are going to like that. This style has velcroed opening sleeves for IV access and you can tie the strings yourself in the front. Easy to slide in and out. It is made with 100% lightweight cotton with a V-neck. It is available in all sizes and heights. Most importantly, you can go for a walk in the hallway and why not the whole hospital with a proud feeling of empowerment.