medic alert bracelets

[ProudGrandma]

I am getting my daughter a medic alert bracelet for her corn allergy.  She is 18 and going off to college in the fall...and I am trying to decide what information is the most important right away.  So, one of my questions is, is putting her Name on the bracelet a good idea...not so much...or indifferent.  What I have now is:

epi pen

her name

corn allergy

saline only IV (as reg IV's have corn in them) 

my cell phone number

the rest of the important information will be in the data bank at medic alert.

Would you do something different??

thanks.

[Lanny]

I wore one of those for many years.  Allergy to Sulfa.  I do not remember that my name was on it.  I do not remember that any phone number was on it. I don't think there's room for that.  I believe the idea is (or was at that time) that an emergency provider would contact Medic Alert, if there was an emergency and that Medic Alert would have had more complete information available to them if necessary. With improved technology, possibly it works differently now?

[bluemongoose]

I have my son's name on the front part so that they know his name if he is unable to speak. On the backside I have allergies listed; carries EpiPen; and then mom:my number

The main thing is to have a standard bracelet not one of the newfangled decorative ones. They look cool but can bemistaken for just jewelry.

Edited February 8, 2019 by bluemongoose

[ProudGrandma]

the reason I thought to put MY phone number on the bracelet isn't because she is a kid...but because what good does it do to call her cell phone?  

I never thought about the standard vs the decorative ones...this is the one she had picked out...too fancy? bracelet

thanks for your thoughts.

[zimom]

54 minutes ago, bluemongoose said:

I have my son's name on the front part so that they know his name if he is unable to speak. On the backside I have allergies listed; carries EpiPen; and then mom:my number

The main thing is to have a standard bracelet not one of the newfangled decorative ones. They look cool but can bemistaken for just jewelry.

 

I was going to suggest the RoadID.  My daughters really like theirs.  But they use them just for identification in case of emergency, and will actually WEAR them.  But, I don't know that medical personnel will or will not overlook the important information on them.  

[kbutton]

We are planning to do a medic alert bracelet for my son and asked the local EMS what they look at or do. They will look for a bracelet, but they said that it's a really good idea to file an "SOP" (standard operating procedure, not sure if all EMS places call it that) with each local EMS where my son has activities. I guess they keep a file on your medical issues, allergies, etc., and somehow it pops up in their system if an emergency call goes out that involves that person (particularly if that address comes up). 

We also set up an account with Backpack Health. It's an app that can go on your phone, and it can be accessed even when you are out of range of wifi, cell service, etc. (from what I understand). There are free and paid versions. You can create Share Cards that go to a unique URL, and they are customized to the level of what you want to share (school vs. babysitter vs. EMS).

[MeaganS]

DD has one. It says the following:

DD10's name
Dilated Aorta
Turners Syndrome
My Phone number

She's a severe risk of aortic dissection and that's the reason she has the bracelet. If she's ever in a wreck or complaining of chest pain or faint, she needs a CAT scan as soon as possible. I put her name on it so they could look up her information if needed. It's on the underside of the bracelet. I can't see any reason not to include it. It's small and you'd have to be looking for it. I don't worry about storing her information in a database like the one MedicAlert offers because my understanding is that it is rarely used. I just keep the most important fact on the bracelet, so that it will be taken care of and the rest can wait until a guardian can help.

[Pen]

I think your phone number is a good idea .  

Corn Allergy

epi-pen (location of epi pen?) 

I would leave off name. 

1) person first responding and seeing the bracelet may be any passerby- what would it help them to know?

2) not sure about IV issue - if any IV but saline would kill her, I guess that is necessary to put.  But might there be some life saving IV that doesn’t have corn other than pure saline?

[Violet Crown]

Seconding RoadID, especially if there's any concern a child won't want to wear a bracelet full-time. Wee Girl wore one for years when she was unable to speak, and she wouldn't wear jewelry but would wear the wristband. It had her full name, "NON-VERBAL", "MOM (phone number)", "DAD (phone number)." We got it after an over-officious TSA agent nearly didn't let us on a plane because Wee Girl "didn't know her own name." 🙄 Anyway she really liked the bands: one in pink, one in purple, depending on the day's mood!

[Arcadia]

I just set up the Medical ID info on my iPhone as a backup to the bracelet. I could put more detailed info there like my oncologist name and contact number. There is probably something similar for Android smartphones.

“Set up your Medical ID in the Health app on your iPhone

Medical ID helps first responders access your critical medical information from the Lock screen, without needing your passcode. They can see information like allergies and medical conditions as well as who to contact in case of an emergency.” https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207021

[zimom]

I guess I was the last to know, Road ID now has an add-on to the Apple Watchband for identification.   For older kids that don't want to wear an extra ID.   My adult daughter just told me about it, although she still happily wears her old Road ID that they don't even make anymore 🙂