Medic Alert Bracelets

greenbicycle

I think there are a high number of emergency service personnel on this board so thought I would ask my question here.

Do you check for medic alert jewellry?
Which type is the best to get?
What information is useful and how would one prioritise information on a small space available on a pices of jewellry?
There are pieces that you can get where there is a code that accesses your info online so this would require someone to go online and look up your medical info online is this something that would happen in an ambulanceor emergency situation? Or do you only work with the info that is immediatly visable?

Miike

greenbicycle wrote: »

I think there are a high number of emergency service personnel on this board so thought I would ask my question here.

Do you check for medic alert jewellry?
Which type is the best to get?
What information is useful and how would one prioritise information on a small space available on a pices of jewellry?
There are pieces that you can get where there is a code that accesses your info online so this would require someone to go online and look up your medical info online is this something that would happen in an ambulanceor emergency situation? Or do you only work with the info that is immediatly visable?

Medi-tags are checked routinely as part of a survey.

Mostly people will have "ALLERGY: PENICILLIN" "JANE DOE. TYPE 2 DIABETIC. INSULIN DEPENDENT" "EPILEPSY" and the likes. There is typically no need to use a meditag that has a code you need to look up online. It's not a matter of needing a full medical history, it's just a forewarning to medical staff.

When you ask what is best to get it's hard to answer, in my opinion a necklace or wrist tag is by far the most effective. I've seen people with phone cases that say things like "ALLERGY: ASPIRIN" but do you really think emergency services or hospital staff are going to look at you phone cover to and say "Oh, no, John Doe is allergic to aspirin".

I hope this answers you're questions somewhat

greenbicycle

Thanks for your post miike.

I suppose the reason i was asking about what to put on a medic alert bracelet and whether emergency responders would look up an online record is that i have a condition that is fairly rare and there is a very good chance that they wont have heard of it. The condition could display some symptoms that could really confuse a responder and have them totally misdiagnose me (not that they would be diagnosing but they could assume I am suffering from something that I am not, it would just appear that way).

I was thinking that my online record could briefly describe the condition, symptoms and what drugs i should not be given (there is a list!).

But of course this is all pointless if an emergency person doesn't generally look up records corresponding to a code written on a medic alert bracelet.

Miike

greenbicycle wrote: »

Thanks for your post miike.

I suppose the reason i was asking about what to put on a medic alert bracelet and whether emergency responders would look up an online record is that i have a condition that is fairly rare and there is a very good chance that they wont have heard of it. The condition could display some symptoms that could really confuse a responder and have them totally misdiagnose me (not that they would be diagnosing but they could assume I am suffering from something that I am not, it would just appear that way).

I was thinking that my online record could briefly describe the condition, symptoms and what drugs i should not be given (there is a list!).

But of course this is all pointless if an emergency person doesn't generally look up records corresponding to a code written on a medic alert bracelet.

I've seen medi-alierts that are like a small vial with a piece of paper rolled up in them, on that paper you can write your lists. It's been mainly cyclists I've seen with these type of meditags. It would look like your normal bracelet saying on a piece of metal "I am a diabetic" or whatever then there is the vial you can screw open!

greenbicycle

Ah very good, that might be an option alright, must look into them. I currently have one that looks a bit like those yellow plastic livestrong bands that everyone wore years ago but it is just a small amount of space to write on but the vial option might be better.

I take it you are saying that an emergency responder typically wont look (or have time to look) up online info. I suppose it makes sense.

Thanks miike