I came across this in the NY Times, about attractive medical ID bracelets:
The designer’s site is here is linked below, and you can drill down from there into all the medical ID bracelets:
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If the bracelet is too attractive first responders might overlook it.
I Agree. Medical professionals have a tendency to ‘feel’ for medical IDs because they tend to be of a really typical build. If your in a car accident after dark, people are feeling for these things around your neck, wrists, and ankles. Its like in the army, your looking to Dog tags or Med tags, not jewlry.
P.S. In a pinch, if you have to go to the hospital and you don’t have medical ID, you tape a sign to your door. All of us should probably have this now, in advance of getting sick. Make a note that insulin is in the fridge and they can get it for you. You can pack a bag with supplies now, to bring with if you need to go to the hospital.
SAMPLE info should be taped to your door:
S - Signs and Symptoms
A - Allergies
M - Medications
P - pertinent previous medical history - large surgeries, etc. DIABETES Type 1 (25 years), insulin dependent - 30 units basal, 2 units per 15 grams of carb on sliding scale.
L - Last meal
E - Events leading up to this event.
Also, Name/address/Birthday/Emergency contact phone number/email.
Make it so they can just grab this piece of paper when they are going out the door and take it with them. That really helps them when they are in a hurry.
In an TRUE emergency, you write “Diabetic” in permanent marker on someones forehead so that the medics see it, FOR SURE. But, if your writing on yourself, it might be easier to write it on your hand where they are likely to put in an IV.
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I had thought immediately after posting this, that I should have thought out the negative aspects a bit more. Then again, after considering, there are people like me that simply don’t wear a medic alert bracelet, and this would be better than nothing…
You make fun, but it is a real concern. There are issues with vanity, or with social acceptability, that have kept me away from products, and generally, I’ve found acceptable alternatives to dowdy medically-oriented designs, for example, finding attractive shoulder bags and slings for carrying medical supplies. This is no different.
This is the 1st time, @JamesIgoe, that I have considered having “diabetes” tattooed on my arm. I know I’ll regret that, but I have considered it. Fortunately, its an inconvenient time for a tattoo. You still going to work or are you working remotley?
I work remotely as a software engineer, and was until recently working 2 days from home, but now it is every day. Much better. My teammates were not friends in any sense, although I’ve probably lost a bit of excitement of being out and about. My walk to work was 15 minutes each way, so each time I get a job closer to home, or work remotely, just a little less activity in my life, so my workouts have up until recently been increasing.
Yourself?
My people were all still in the office on Monday. They were not prepared. I took PTO Thursday and Friday so as to keep out of the way and decrease personal risk. A handful of people were sent home to work remotely and ‘test the servers.’ Since I was new to the org, I was laid off. They do not have the resources to keep my training going. It can take a year to get people up and running and I was only there for a couple of months. I am useless to them and a complete drain on resources. My coworkers should almost all be home, working remotely, today. Newbies were laid off. I dont think I will even start applying to new jobs for 2 months. They might bring me back, but this might be sooner than I am comfortable.
Sorry to hear. What kindof work was it?
software. No biggie. I’m lucky to be home. I dont think I’ll be able to work for a while. Its simple too hard to train new people. We soak up soooo many resources. Maybe I’ll start applying again in 2 months…maybe not. Had a IEEE presentation in couple months. Thats shut down. There’s stuff I can do, though, to further professional development. Trying to get recently laid off grad students together to work on stuff. There’s been a major global recession every time I have graduated. I’m pretty used to it.
I apologize. I misunderstood the “tone” of your original post.
My friend who is an EMT told me they are trained to look for medic-alert bracelets, but not tattoos or at the details of other jewelry etc. So if you get a tattoo with that aim, I’d make sure it’s really obvious/unmissable if you expect it to work, and I would not think the bracelets shown, while pretty, would be a sure thing and not sure how much benefit it then conveys.
@JamesIgoe I completely agree that the aesthetics are important, and I don’t wear a medic alert bracelet mostly because I hate the look, and also because I have a card in my wallet and the info in my phone emergency screen and given that I have never yet in almost 30 years of having diabetes lost consciousness, I’m not super worried about it knock on wood. If hypo unawareness was a bigger issue for me, maybe I’d make the style sacrifice. Maybe.
Also just looked at the website, and while they have a long FAQ, they don’t seem to address this particular concern about functionality anywhere, especially about their more “discrete” styles.
No, not misinterpreted, just different take. Maybe I misunderstood the tone…
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I haven’t had any issues either, and I’ve been on insulin for 36 years, give or take, although I’ve had a few instances where it was scary-low, but I’ve always been able to take care of my hypos on my own. Even now, I feel my lows around 80, and don’t lack for hypoglycemic awareness. All of this makes me take this less seriously than others.
Aren’t emergency responders always supposed to test blood sugar if your unresponsive? I haven’t worn an ID bracelet since I was a small child, when my then doctor told my family this. He advised that that bracelets were only likely to cause discrimination and not be of a benefit, since they would soon discover a diabetic incident anyway.
I have always in 61 yrs worn something that identifies me as having diabetes. I worry about being in a car accident. I have always been stylish, so I usually just wear a medic alert necklace under my clothes.
No one has ever needed to look at my necklace, but I can’t imagine not wearing it. When I have forgotten it, I have written diabetic on my wrist or hand.
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As mentioned previously, yes, tattoos are unlikely to be noticed by EMTs. Its something the hospital would notice when they undress you. Although, things are odd now. Things might not work like normal. I think that tattoos are more noticeable to non-medical professionals. Non-medical people are unlikely to look for med tags.
But, I always wear med tags and I encourage all of you to wear them now. It really, really helps your medical responders. I’m a big fan of med tags.
