Medic Allert tags or bracelet?

[NiteNicole]

I am just full of questions today.

Do people really look for/at those?  My daughter is on two meds that do impact what other kinds of meds she can have, and she has a neurological issue.  Should I have her wear a medic alert bracelet for school or when she's not with me?  I don't know if people really even look for/at those and I can't remember the last time I saw one.

[philomom]

I like the bracelets. The first thing you do in first aid or the EMTs if called to the scene? They take your pulse and they'll see the bracelet.

http://www.stickyj.com/medical-emergency-medical-id-bracelets.html

There's lots of styles to choose from.

[Linda on the move]

agreed. If this is information that an EMT would need in an emergency, then get one.

(most people don't look at them, and kids who were them every day ignore them. You might need to teach her a simple answer if she gets asked about it my others. "I don't like to talk about that" works well.)

[widemouthedfrog]

I wear one and consider it to be insurance. If your child is often without you, I would certainly get her one. I found that the original bracelet did not work well for me, so I got it changed to a pretty silver one at the jewelry store. It doesn't fall off any more and it looks quite attractive. There are also many "kid" styles with little jewels on them. You have the added bonus of placing information on the account so that when people call the number with your medic alert number the people can tell them all sorts of things - about drug interactions and so forth.

I tend to get "nice bracelet" comments and sometimes children ask me what it is for. I tell them, but generally the kids are asking because they also have a Medic Alert and are curious about mine.

You may not remember seeing them because the tag portion often falls to the bottom of the wrist. However, when someone is checking for one in an emergency, they see it right away.

[NiteNicole]

Thanks!  She is with me most of the time, but she starts school next year and while I know they'll have her info on file, I wouldn't mind a little extra insurance.  She wouldn't mind being asked about it - she knows she sometimes has problems with her leg and that she takes meds, it's not something overly private.  Someone started a Chamelia charm bracelet and some other kind of charm bracelet for her, I wonder if I can just get a tag to fit on those?

[kelly1827]

I'm a paramedic and the mother of a kiddo who used to be anaphylactic to milk, so she wore a Medic Alert bracelet. I would strongly urge anyone who is going to wear one to make it either the classic MA bracelet or something very visually similar. EMS and ER folks do not spend time perusing all the different variants of alert bracelets/jewellry and if it is not obvious people will not investigate (the whole point of the item).

And even if your child is with you 24/7/365, s/he should have one. What if you were incapacitated and could not speak for either of you? What if you got separated somehow? A few years ago I took care of a toddler who was involved in a motor vehicle accident with mom. Mom was unconscious and being airlifted out, and the child was transported by ground to the trauma center. We didn't even know his name, let alone if he had any allergies, was hearing impaired, needed meds, etc. The police contacted her residence and got no answer. It wasn't for several hours until they located the father. Honestly, when my dd no longer needed a MA bracelet I considered keeping it on her, if for no other reason than if she got lost (because they could call the contact people on her file), but then she broke her arm and the cast required us to have it off.

[NiteNicole]

Thanks for that, I hadn't really thought about it much.

All the tags I've seen that have the actual medic info on them are pretty big and would be, I'd think, hard to miss.  She's not big on wearing jewelery at ALL but she will wear two particular bracelets and has gotten used to them, I think I'll just get a huge Medic Alert charm to go on them (and not one that "blends in" with the other charms).

At this point, her issue is not something we try to hide but she doesn't seem very interested in it.  She CAN remember that she used to be able to run and not have trouble walking, but she doesn't ask a lot of questions about what's going on now.  I don't try to down play it because I don't want her to think it's something to be embarrassed about but at the same time, if she reaches a point where she's more private about it then we will respect that.  All that to say, a big honkin' charm with the Medic Alert logo on it won't bother her.

[dbsam]

My daughter started wearing a MA bracelet just prior to turning three and still wears them now at age six.  As Kelly 1827 suggested, I had her wear the bracelet even when she was younger and we were never apart in case we were in an accident and I couldn't speak for her.  I also wanted her to get used to wearing it before she started school so it wouldn't be a big deal.  I'm not sure any child has ever asked her what it is.  An adult asked once and my daughter said 'It is my seizure bracelet.'  We have the typical MA metal tags which are pretty large and we attach them to decorative beads instead of the metal chain so it is more appealing to her.  It is still very obviously a MA bracelet and easy to spot.