The Hospice Comfort Kit: What It Is, Why It Matters, and How It Helps

The Comfort Kit provides essential relief for your loved one and empowers your family with timely support.

When a loved one is receiving hospice care, the unknowns can feel overwhelming. One of the first things families often notice is the small box or bag delivered to the home—what we call the Comfort Kit.

I’ve seen people look at it with hesitation, worry, or confusion.
What’s in here? When do we use this? Does this mean things are getting worse?

I have also seen families entirely forget they received the comfort kit months ago, and it’s migrated to the back of the refrigerator behind the pickles. 

So let’s take a moment to demystify it.

The Comfort Kit is a thoughtfully prepared collection of medications and supplies designed to give your loved one comfort—and to give you peace of mind.

What Is the Comfort Kit?

The Comfort Kit is a small supply of medications your hospice team provides ahead of time, just in case your loved one needs them urgently. Think of it like an emergency toolbox—simple, practical, and quietly reassuring. It typically includes medications for:

• Pain

• Shortness of breath

• Anxiety or restlessness

• Nausea or vomiting

• Congestion (secretions/noisy breathing)

These symptoms are common toward the end of life, and having treatments at home—without waiting for a prescription or pharmacy delivery—can make all the difference.

Why We Keep It at Home

Hospice care is about comfort, dignity, and easing suffering.

When symptoms arise, they often happen suddenly, at night, or in moments when families feel most vulnerable. The Comfort Kit ensures you’re not left helpless. It means you have what you need, when you need it.

Some families never open it. Others use it once or twice. Some lean on it more during the final days.

Using the Comfort Kit

This part is important:

You are never expected to use anything in the Comfort Kit without guidance.
Call your hospice team when your loved one seems uncomfortable or is experiencing any of the above symptoms. A hospice nurse will always walk you through what medication to use, how much, and when. You are not alone in this. I have listed below what is generally included in a Comfort Kit:

💧 Liquid Morphine

Used for: pain and shortness of breath
This is the medication families use most often. Liquid morphine is gentle, works quickly (30-60 minutes), and brings deep relief. It eases pain and also helps soften the feeling of air hunger, which can be frightening for both the patient and the family.
Hospice nurses will always guide you on dosing.

😌 Ativan (Lorazepam)

Used for: anxiety, restlessness, fear, trouble sleeping, and shortness of breath. At times, it helps with nausea.
At the end of life, anxiety can show up in the body as agitation, pacing, restlessness, or difficulty settling. Ativan helps soften those edges and creates calm so the person can rest. It often pairs well with morphine for breathlessness.

🌙 Haldol (Haloperidol)

Used for: nausea, vomiting, agitation, restlessness, hallucinations, terminal delirium
Haldol is incredibly effective for nausea and for calming the mind when someone is experiencing confusion or agitation. It’s one of the most versatile medications in the kit and is gentle when used in small doses.

🌡️ Tylenol Suppositories

Used for: fever and general discomfort
When swallowing becomes difficult, Tylenol suppositories are an easy, effective way to reduce fever or body aches. They’re simple to use, and families often feel relieved to have a non-invasive comfort option.

💩 Bisacodyl Suppository

Used for: constipation
Constipation is extremely common at the end of life, especially with opioid use or decreased mobility. A bisacodyl suppository works reliably when other methods aren’t effective or when swallowing pills is no longer possible. Keeping the bowels comfortable helps the whole body feel at ease. Call the hospice team if your loved one has not had a bowel movement in the last three days.

A Few Things I Want You to Know

• You are never expected to choose or administer these medications alone.
  Hospice nurses guide you step-by-step, often over the phone, especially at night.

• Having the Comfort Kit does not mean death is near.
  Some families never open it.

• It’s there so you feel prepared.
  It’s one of the most compassionate things we can offer—relief without delay.
  

What the comfort kit represents

More than medications, the kit symbolizes support, dignity, and the promise that suffering or distress will be eased. When symptoms arise—and they often do suddenly—it’s empowering to know you have exactly what your loved one needs right at home. In the fridge. Behind the pickles.

And perhaps most importantly:
You’re not alone.
The Comfort Kit is just one way we stay close, even when we’re not physically in the room.

Blessings.