Who Needs A medical ID Bracelet?
Medical ID bracelets are designed to provide EMT's with information about your specific medical or allergic condition, or medication you're taking in the event of an emergency at the point in time when they're about to administer emergency treatment. It's commonly said that a medical alert bracelet speaks for you when you are unable to speak for yourself. Thus, it's especially critical for persons who have an illness that might render them unable to speak to wear a medical id bracelet or medical alert pendant. However, it's recommended by some medical personnel that everyone with a severe allergy or medical condition should wear a medical ID.
To see a full list of conditions that benefit from wearing a medical bracelet Click Here
What Should I Engrave On My Medical Bracelet?
In case of an emergency where you are unable to communicate for yourself it is important to be wearing a medical alert bracelet which will inform first responders how to best provide care for you, below are our recommendations for what you should engrave on your bracelet.
There are 4 key components we recommend you engrave on your new medical bracelet:
Your Diagnosis/Condition - Diabetes
Allergies (if any) - Allergic to PCN
Your Name - James Smith
Emergency Contact - ICE: 222-222-2222
What information should you leave off your medical bracelet? We don’t suggest you engrave an entire address (unless it's for a patient with dementia) and definitely don't engrave your social security number on your medical jewelry.
Keep it simple, use upper and lower case, use abbreviations when possible such as ICE (in case of emergency) leave extraneous words out (i.e. allergic to penicillin = NO PCN or taking Coumadin = Coumadin).
For a detailed guide on what to engrave on your medical ID bracelets Click Here
Sizing My Medical Alert Bracelet
The first step in correctly sizing your medical ID bracelet is to correctly measure your wrist. The easiest way to do this is to use measuring tape. However, if measuring tape is not available, you can use a piece of string or yarn in combination with a ruler. Wrap the string/yarn around your wrist and cut it so that the two ends will meet when wrapped snuggly around your wrist. Then, lay the string out next to a ruler to measure the total length. Or, print out the free wrist measuring tool on this page.
Because most medical id bracelets are measured from clasp to clasp, it is recommended that you choose a bracelet approximately 1/2" to 3/4" larger than your actual wrist size. Note: some styles may have a different sizing recommendation, so be sure to read before you purchase.
For best results, only purchase bracelets that have a clearly stated size or specific sizing instructions.
What Do EMTs Look For On A Patient
Emergency Medical Technicians (commonly referred to as EMT's) are trained as first responders, to look first for a medical ID bracelet and other forms of medical identification (such as a medical alert necklace or pendant), and then for medical wallet cards. Because of the urgent nature of emergency situations, it's important to have your medical information quickly and easily available to the medical personnel via one of the aforementioned forms of medical identification. If the medical personnel are unable to quickly locate your medical information they will begin treating you without any prior knowledge of your condition and/or allergies.
Because medical ID's are typically quite small, and a person's medical history can be very lengthy and detailed, there are several abbreviations that are commonly used on medical ID's and understood by EMT's. Here are a few of the most commonly used medical abbreviations:
Atrial Fibrillation A-fib
Blood Pressure BP
Cardiovascular CV
Epinephrine Pen EpiPen
Gastrointestinal GI
Ventricular Tachycardia VT/v tach
Please follow the link for a more complete list of medical abbreviations.