单选题 Hospital visits can be unsettling for all (51) and visitors are often unsure of how to behave at the bedside of sick friend or (52) .
This may explain why so many people shy away from a hospital visit--not for fear of infection (53) rather of saying the wrong thing. By following a few simple guidelines though, embarrassment can easily be avoided.
"A visit is important for a sick person because it allows them to (54) social contact," says Karl Koehle, professor at the Institute for Psychosomatics and Clinical Psychology at Cologne University. Visiting (55) , he says, can actually strengthen interpersonal relationships. "Unfortunately, many people only think of this aspect during the first few weeks."
Then again, not (56) patient may want to receive visitors. So it's always advisable to arrange a visit (57) with the sick person or a close friend or relative. "That applies particularly to visits to a home, even more than in hospital," says Inge Wolff, head of the international Working Group on Etiquette in Bielefeld.
But moderation is (58) . There are frequent cases of (59) ill people becoming worn (60) by an endless streams of visitors. "That's when the doctors might call a halt to it," says Koehle from experience. "And the other patients in the ward need to be taken into (61) , too," says etiquette expert Inge Wolff. They can often feel pestered by a neighbour's frequent visits.
Mobile phones should always be turned off and kept out of (62) during a visit. Otherwise, the sick person could get the impression that the visitor really has no time and would like to be off as soon as an opportune moment (63) , says Wolff. (64) hospitals forbid the use of cellphones in the vicinity of hospital equipment.
Visitors should take a small gift such as a newspaper or magazine, (65) a book. Sweets are tricky, says Inge Wolff, because the patient maybe under instructions to keep to a special diet. Also, the present shouldn't be too large or "over the top"-- such as a huge basket of fruit.