Who Should Wear a Medical Alert Bracelet

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A medical bracelet is worn by an individual so that if in case of emergencies, the information contained in the bracelet could save their life. To elaborate, this ID tag contains information on any medicines the individual uses or the allergies that the patient has the emergency contact person details on it. 

A medical ID necklace or bracelet will guide the doctors to give suitable treatment to you when you are in an unconscious state.

Medical Alert Bracelet

It is recommended to have medical IDs if you are having any medical condition according to many healthcare and physicians organizations.  Wearing a medical ID at all times can provide you and your near ones a sense of relief and peace of mind since if you end up alone in an emergency, the emergency personnel are alerted to your medical condition or history.

It need not necessarily be a medical alert bracelet, medical alert jewelry could also be a necklace worn around your neck.

Just imagine, a simple piece of jewelry around your neck or wrist can help the emergency personnel be alerted to your condition and in turn prevent misdiagnosis, unwanted drug interaction, or any treatment that might be fatal to you!

As for what all a medical ID should contain; an accurate and informative medical alert ID should have conditions like Diabetes, drug allergy, blood type, and medications. This will help doctors give you the proper treatment right away to help avoid unwanted physical examinations, hospital trips, or unnecessary medication.

Before we go into who should wear a medical alert bracelet, I’d like to take you through the benefits of wearing medical ID jewelry:

Facilitates an Informative Diagnosis

Your medical alert bracelet will have the information that your doctors need including your pre-existing conditions, to make a more informed diagnosis. If you’re wearing the bracelet, doctors will be able to detect your illness earlier and give you effective treatment as soon as possible. A medical alert device can help doctors evaluate you faster.

Doctors will be able to treat the right ailments if you have one. A medical id tag can help the doctor rule out ailments and arrive at the correct diagnosis.

Help Avoid Unwanted Hospital Visits

Imagine that you have epilepsy. Now, imagine that you are out shopping alone, standing in line at the checkout counter and suddenly you have an episode.

When the emergency responder arrives, they will rush you to the hospital as you’d be unconscious and not in a condition to explain your condition, any possible triggers, or any allergic reaction you may have to certain medications.

On the other hand, if you had a piece of medical alert jewelry on your person, the emergency medical professions can identify your condition and will wait for the seizure to stop.

Afterward, they will just make sure you are conscious and well aware of your surroundings, ensure that everything can be managed independently. This way you can an unnecessary trip to the hospital, saving money and time.

 

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Enables Timely, Accurate Bystander Response

Sometimes, you may have to rely on bystanders to help you out of an emergency situation. In this case, a piece of medical alert jewelry worn on your person can be invaluable.

Bystander Response

The medical alert bracelets are written in layman’s language so that anyone can comprehend the individual’s information easily and administer first aid if there are no doctors around yet.

So you know, a medical id tag does indeed prove immensely useful in many instances.

 

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Easier Blood Transfusion

If you’ve been in a nasty accident and in need of immediate surgery, it is highly likely that you would need a blood transfusion to compensate for the blood you lost.

The medical ID includes information about your blood type which helps the doctors and emergency personnel know which kind of blood to give you.

In addition to that, they will also be able to talk to your doctors since the medical alert will give the details of your regular doctor. This will help to administer the medication and treatment which will suit you better. 

Now, people with certain conditions ought to wear medical IDs to alert medical professionals in an emergency

So we are moving on to who should wear a medical alert bracelet; here is a list of conditions that would make a good reason to wear a medical id tag:

People with the following conditions:

  • Alzheimer’s disease, memory problems
  • Asthma, COPD
  • Autism
  • Blood disorders
  • Breathing disorders
  • Clinical trial participation
  • Diabetes
  • Epilepsy/seizure disorders
  • Food, drug, and insect allergies
  • Heart health issues
  • Hearing, visual or mental impairments
  • Kidney failure
  • Multiple medications
  • Rare diseases
  • Risk of stroke
  • Sickle Cell Anemia
  • Transplant surgery

If you have one or more of the medical conditions listed above, you should consider getting a medical ID to avoid any disastrous consequences that come in the shape of medical errors in the time of an emergency.

 

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Frequently Asked Questions About Medical Alert Jewelry:

What are the medical conditions that need to be engraved on the medical alert bracelet?

Take a look at some of the medical conditions that are usually seen on a medical ID:

  • Irregular ECG/EKG
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Myasthenia gravis
  • Asthma
  • Heart valve replacement
  • Bleeding disorder
  • Dementia
  • Stroke
  • Hypertension
  • Diabetes (insulin-dependent as well as non-insulin-dependent)
  • Cardiac arrhythmia
  • Sickle cell disease
  • Glaucoma
  • Hearing impairment
  • Laryngectomy
    Lupus
  • Seizure disorder
  • Visual impairment
  • Renal failure
  • Emphysema
  • Lymphoma
  • Malignant hyperthermia
  • Leukemia
  • Mental health issues
  • Pacemaker or ICD implant
  • Hemolytic anemia

 

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Should I include a list of medications on my medical alert bracelet?

Yes and No!

So the most important thing is that you list out the critical conditions you have, and your blood type.

If you have space left over, you can utilize that space to list out (engrave) prescription medicines taken on a long-term or need basis. This will enable medical personnel to put you on the correct treatment and will reduce the scope of any medical error and eliminate chances of a drug interaction.

Here are some classes of medicines that are usually seen on a medical ID:

  • Analgesics: including many narcotics
  • Anticoagulants: commonly known as blood thinners
  • Anticonvulsants: used for seizure disorders like Epilepsy
  • Antihistamines, Decongestants: these are prescription or over-the-counter medicines for allergies
  • Blood pressure medicines
  • Beta-Blockers: these are drugs that are used to slow the heart rate
  • Cardiac medicines: including ones for angina or atrial fibrillation
  • Chemotherapy agents: medicines for treating cancer or serious infectious diseases
  • Steroids

What information should I engrave on my medical alert bracelet?

List only medical conditions that should be known in an emergency

Each medical ID style allows a different amount of information to be engraved. If you have multiple conditions that could prove fatal in an emergency, we suggest that you opt for wider bracelets that can accommodate the amount of info, and choose to engrave both sides of the ID.

You can also engrave “See wallet card” and list more information there than can fit on your ID.

For instance, you may have a long-standing condition that requires medication, but if that medication is changed frequently, you could opt to list them on a wallet card or handbag card and keep it at all times on your person.

All you need to engrave on your medical alert ID is “See Wallet Card”.

Summarize your blood type information in short words. Remember to list any blood-thinning condition if it exists.

Only medicines taken on a long-term basis should be engraved on a medical ID. Take care to list the most important medicines first.

Do emergency medical personnel look at my medical alert jewelry?

Now, allow us to delve into some statistics:

A person’s medical condition is the primary and important information that will help in administering the right treatment for the patient. 

According to multiple online reports, it is clear that 95% of emergency responders who arrive at the scene of an emergency check for medical identification tag on the patient. This could be on the wrist and around the neck.

Medical personnel on Emergency scene

If you wear a medical ID, it will help in preventing any treatment or unwanted drug interaction that won’t suit your medical condition. Also, the chance of misdiagnosis is very less. 

For instance, if you are an individual with high blood pressure, the emergency responders know they ought to check your blood pressure and monitor your vital stats in general until you’re conscious and able to manage on your own again.

They know that you would be on certain medications for high blood pressure (which should ideally be engraved on the medical alert ID or on your wallet card) and that they need to be cautious of drug interactions.

medical ID,

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When should I wear my medical emergency bracelet?

The short answer- Always!

You should always wear your medical ID, especially when you step outside. In case you are going out alone, or even staying inside the home unaccompanied, the medical alert tag could come in mighty useful in case of an unexpected disaster.

The purpose of the medical alert jewelry is to be of use in an emergency where you may be unconscious or unfit to communicate about the condition of your mental and physical health. If you take it off, it can’t help you in an unexpected emergency.

Invest in a good quality medical alert bracelet or necklace which can safeguard your life in case of a potential disaster.

We hope that this article has been beneficial to you with your queries on a medical alert bracelet. Do let us know your experience in the comments below!