5. Get a MedicAlert Bracelet and Become a Member
Please visit their website to learn more: MedicAlert
It’s like wearing a doctor’s note
When your child wears a MedicAlert bracelet, it’s as if they are wearing a doctor’s note at all times. Here are some examples of how wearing a MedicAlert bracelet can help your child:
- If your child is too young to speak, any responsible adult caring for them (such as a daycare provider) can know in an instant what their allergies are just by reading the bracelet.
- For school-aged children, it’s a reminder to their classmates, teachers, school nurse and other school staff that your child has a medical condition that could require emergency intervention.
- In a situation where there has been an accident of some kind, all a medical professional (such as a paramedic) has to do is read the bracelet.
When you register your child as a member of MedicAlert, you provide your contact information, the names and numbers of your doctors and a medical history which MedicAlert keeps on file for you. The bracelet will be printed with an ID# that is unique to your child, text detailing your child’s allergies and a toll-free 24 hour emergency response phone number to MedicAlert . A paramedic or other medical professional simply calls the toll-free number and provides your child’s ID#, and they will receive the medical information they need to care for your child.
It’s also an ID bracelet
Another interesting feature of membership with MedicAlert and wearing the bracelet is that if your child was ever lost while wearing their MedicAlert bracelet, someone who finds them could call the 24 hour MedicAlert phone line and give them your child’s ID# from the bracelet. MedicAlert would then call you to let you know where your child is.
There are a variety of colors and styles of bracelets, sports bands and necklaces to choose from. Our daughter has a stainless steel bracelet with a pink MedicAlert emblem (which she loves – it’s pink, after all!), and she never takes it off. She sleeps in it, swims in it, bathes in it and has even danced in major ballet productions in it. If someone asks her to take it off – such as for a ballet performance – she politely says, “I’m sorry, but no, I can’t because it could save my life.”
On the MedicAlert website, click on “Membership” to learn more about the services they provide. Also check out the “KidSmart” link within the Membership section.
