Life happens. Whether you’re an endurance athlete or someone living with a chronic illness, a medical emergency can strike at any time. The problem with an emergency is that you never expect it. So how do you protect yourself against it?
The simplest way to stay safe is to remain prepared. Medical alert bracelets make it easy by providing you with a level of preparation and protection you can’t otherwise carry on your person. How so? Simply by the way a medical ID tag works.
What Is a Medical ID Tag?
A medical ID tag is a piece of jewelry worn around the wrist. It doesn’t sound like much, but it allows you to carry your personal information with you wherever you go. They feature metal plates that are engraved with identifying medical information. In the event of an emergency, a passerby can consult your medical alert bracelet and get you proper medical attention.
What Should You Put on Your ID?
If you’ve never worn or seen a medical ID, you may not know what to engrave on it. If you’re unsure of what should be engraved on your ID, here’s what you should include:
- Your name
- Your emergency contact’s name and number
- Your medical conditions — diseases, chronic illnesses, allergies
- Your medications
- Your allergies
Why You Should Wear a Medical ID Tag
Now, why should you wear a medical ID tag? Here are just a few reasons why you should wear one.
Avoid misdiagnosis
A common mistake that happens when finding an unconscious or injured person is misdiagnosing what may have caused their medical emergency. Misdiagnoses come from a lack of information. A bystander can’t help it, either. They can only work on the information they have readily at hand.
Make their life easier by providing them with essential medical information. By wearing a medical ID tag, you provide bystanders and emergency personnel with information that will allow them to act in a beneficial way.
Receive adequate help
You want to provide bystanders with the right medical information, as it will allow them to administer adequate medical assistance. Even if they can’t provide you the assistance you need, they can call local EMS, who can act accordingly to keep you safe and potentially save your life.
Get assistance quickly
Depending on your medical emergency, it’s incredibly important that you receive immediate assistance. While a broken bone can be dealt with once arriving at a hospital, a complication from heart disease could make for a much more life-threatening situation, one that must be dealt with immediately.
Having your medical information on hand makes that more viable, as it will allow medical personnel to treat you from the start, rather than having to diagnose what is causing your medical emergency.
Avoid awkward situations
Some medical conditions come with side effects and traits that can be socially awkward. From epilepsy to autism to Alzheimer’s, people still act awkwardly when interacting with people with the condition. It’s unfortunate, as some diseases and conditions are still socially treated as insignificant or strange.
While we can’t change society at the snap of our fingers, we can protect ourselves and help diminish people’s bigotry by educating them. A medical ID tag allows you to clearly state your medical condition to those around you, helping you to inform and educate strangers.
Avoid unnecessary hospitalizations
Lastly, medical ID tags can help you avoid a lot of unnecessary medical bills. If you have a mild form of epilepsy, you don’t need to be hospitalized every time you have a minor seizure. A medical alert bracelet can help protect you against such things, as it will inform strangers and EMTs of your medical condition.
In the event of an emergency, bystanders can know what is causing your emergency, and thus determine whether it’s something that is deathly serious or could be handled on the spot.
When living with a medical condition, your best bet is to remain prepared. Don’t take your chances on a daily basis. Instead, take the time to protect yourself whenever you leave the house. Wearing a medical ID tag makes it incredibly easy to do so.
