Halocho #976 - Bikur Cholim - Visiting the sick

It's a Mitzvah to visit sick people irrelevant of the social standing of the visitor or the patient.

Close friends and family may visit immediately, but others should wait until the 4th day, so as not to aggravate his Mazal and give his the "sick" title.

However if a person becomes very ill very suddenly then all may visit immediately.

One may visit numerous times a day - as long as it doesn't bother the patient.

How to behave when doing Bikur Cholim:
When visiting the sick one may not sit on a chair of he's lying on the floor, in deference to the Shechina which is above the sick person's head. If he's in a bed, one may sit on a chair.

The main point of visiting the sick is to find out if one can help him in anyway, so that he feels he has friends who care about him and in order to pray for him.

Source: Kitzur Shuhlchan Aruch 193:1-3

- Danny
6 Shevat 5772