[DocSanae]

Oops!!!
I must apologize to everyone who's posted in this thread.
As I was housekeeping, I accidentally deleted the entire thread, my bad

I have the first page of the thread up in another window, so I am going to copy the posts in the first page. I am not sure if I can retrieve the remaning pages, but I will give it a try.

[DocSanae]

From Nicole.

Hi there,

I was reading the post that mentioned Medic Alert tags and what not. Here is my issue, I am really sensitive to metal. If it is not rhodium or whatever it is called, coated then I will get an eczema break out and will cause a nasty rash that in some cases in the past got so bad it caused scaring.

I wear one because I have so many medication sensitivities with weird and rare reactions, and as of next year will have a service dog with me. So normally I wear a nylon wrist band that is bright Yellow with the medicalert symbol on it. The ones that are coated are really expensive. I wonder if there is another thing that would work.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Nicole

[DocSanae]

Form da Perfesser

chemistry and have ruined countless eyeglass frames and wrist watches, to the point that they ulcerated my skin and led to bleeding and other nasty things. Now I wear a stainless steel watch (heavy, but affordable) and a titanium medic-alert tag and chain (little pricier, but well worth it to be free of problems and be able to use the durned thing as it was intended.) Gold - well, that's out of this poor professor's budget range!! (I also wear a tungsten-carbide wedding band. The hardest metal known to man, heavy, impossible to scratch with less than a diamond or laser, terribly difficult to work with, and not available in alert tags. Makes a pretty band though! )

That's all I know of in metals commonly used for stuff like this. Plastics and ceramics would work just fine, too.

CT
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da perfesser
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Dare to live your dream!!

[DocSanae]

LuvRdogs

I just happened upon a post where it's recommended that we wear a medical alert of some kind. That was new information to me. Really, about the 1st thing that my doc or PA hasn't mentioned.
I think I'll look into getting one and very soon.
How many of you have one?
salli lou
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[DocSanae]

Jodi1971

there is a website called laurenshope.com and they have beaded ones these are very pretty bracelets and dog tags you name it they have it.

[DocSanae]

kellinp

I have a necklace (gold charm) that says bariatric patient, no nsaids or ngt.
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[DocSanae]

Perfesser

Beaded and pretty are nice, but you want something that the EMT will recognize as carrying life-saving information. Simple is better. Depends what the purpose of wearing the tag is. Me - I wear simple. It looks like a medical alert tag, and I hope I never have to use it!!

CT

I've gotten ours at Medical Alert Bracelets, Pendants, Dog Tags, Necklaces, and Charms
__________________
da perfesser
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Dare to live your dream!!

[DocSanae]

Jodi1971

sorry I should have elaborated the band is beaded and the medic alert tag
is like all the rest but I am sure I saw that for the beaded bracelets they were made of something other than metal still has the symbol on the front and it is the normal size for it. I have seen them before which is where I got the site from and they are quite noticable that they are medic alert but they are just a little more feminine.

I am sorry that I didn't elaborate on that as medic alert is a very important item and needs to be seen quickly and easily read.
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[DocSanae]

I am sorry this is all I was able to retrive. m(_ _)m
My sincere apoligies to everyone who's posts I have accidentally deleted.

[DocSanae]

Adding this post from not quite Barbie copied from another thread.

I can just about guarantee that no one will spot one of those charm bracelets that have a medic alert tag on them! Not the EMS, not the police, and not the ER nurses and Docs. If you are unconcious we are going to be working hard to make sure you are breathing, that your heart rate and blood pressure are good, looking for injuries and trying to figure out what's wrong with you.

The first thing we are taught to do is check the Airway, then Breathing, then Circulation (ABCs). So when I'm checking the airway I'm looking to see if there's something wrong with your mouth/nose - do you have something stuck in your throat? Is your windpipe crushed? Is it in alignment or crooked? The point is, I'm going to look at your neck. The best medical alert tag you can get (IMHO) is a necklace. Very plain, just the medic alert cross, on a very short chain so it's up near the throat and not down between your breasts, 'cause I'm really not going to be looking there until I get ready to start compressions (CPR).

If your airway is open then I'm moving on to "B" breathing, are you getting enough? Initially we'll assit you by forcing air into your lungs (either by mouth to mouth or using a bag); later we'll come back and put a tube down your throat and into your lungs (this is what we call intubation, we actually use a scope to look and make sure we put it in your lungs and NOT your stomach).

This is not the same tube that goes into your stomach and the one that you need to warn about, that's one's called an NG tube (short for NasoGastric which describes the path it takes: naso = nasal, gastric = stomach, so nose to stomach). Depending on the protocols in your area, paramedics may or may not be allowed to do NG tubes outside of the ER. If we do, we blindly shove a tube in your nose and down your throat into your stomach. And if we don't do it the nurses will once we get you to the ER. Note I said "blindly"! No one is watching where the tube goes and it's going to go right through your pouch and into your intestines, possible causing a rupture. So, medic alert needs to say "gastric Bypass, no blind NG" or "no NG w/o lights" meaning they'll put a scope down your throat and look at where they are putting the tube to make sure it doesn't go beyond the pouch. A lot of ER staff aren't used to dealing with GBYers and don't know that they can't just shove in an NG tube.

So now that I've checked Airway and Breathing I'll get around to your Circulation. At this point I'm feeling your neck and wrists for pulses. If you have a medic alert bracelet on your wrist (left would be better) I just might notice it at this point. Again, it needs to be very plain, with just the medic alert symbol or I'm just going to mistake it for a charm bracelet. If your heart is pumping then I'm going to take the time to assess if it's pumping well enough, and may insert an IV at this point (if I haven't found any serious bleeds that need attention first).

I know this seems like a long time but in reality we do all this in a minute or two.

Once I go for an IV I'm really going to notice the bracelet because that's when I'm looking at your arm closely for a vein and jewelry tends gets in the way so I notice it and sometimes take it off. I suggested your left arm because the back of the ambulances are designed with the main seating on the patients left side so the left arm will be closest to the EMTs. I almost always start IVs in the left hand or arm - it's closest, and the majority of people are right handed so this is less inconvienent for the patient.

So the short answer is: plain, short necklace is best, plain bracelet is second. Anything else is probably not going to get noticed.