two more

are medical alert jewelry important? What about those pace-alerts? Important or waste of money?

5 Comments

Mine

by billylittle - 2014-01-02 01:01:46

Right after I had my pacemaker implanted, I ran into Taco Bell to get something to eat, and ran into my local fire department. They said that they would rather you have a medical ID around your neck rather than on an extremity. This is just in case there's a accident and your extremity is amputated from your torso.

Yes

by Alma Annie - 2014-01-02 03:01:16

They are important in an accident. I ended up in emergency last year after tripping up a step and flinging myself into a wall head first. I was somewhat concussed. It is accidents like that and worse that emergency personnel need to know your medical details.
Alma Annie

tjs

by tjs - 2014-01-02 04:01:20

Also in the UK, there are issues with the different software used from one area to another !! typically, in the North East alone, Tyneside area hospitals do not have direct access to the Durham & Darlington records and vice versa. Personally i prefer to wear - hopefully, if the crap hits the fan it will be "belt, suspenders and the odd length of rope"

tjs

Interesting ,SPARROW

by IAN MC - 2014-01-02 10:01:12


Here in the UK , everyone's medical records should be online soon and available at the press of a button in every hospital ( but there have been massive teething problems , hopefully these will be sorted out soon ! )

For some reason there is talk of people being given the right to opt out of the system , freedom of information, the right for privacy etc etc.

These online systems when working perfectly should substantially reduce the need that some people feel to wear medical alert jewellery.

I wonder if the computers will talk to each other when we travel abroad ?

Ian

Previous posts

by Theknotguy - 2014-01-02 10:01:43

There were previous posts on this forum about medical alert jewelry. It all boiled down to: If you felt like it would help, go ahead and wear it. If you felt like it wouldn't help, don't wear it. About 50-50 either way.

Other stuff was just a waste of money. You'd wear it for a while, then quit using it. Save your money for something good like a trip to the Caribbean. You'll get a lot more enjoyment from the trip.

They had me get a pulse-ox and a blood pressure cuff. They worked well for about the first six weeks. Then as everything started to settle down my blood pressure stabilized and all the readings were pretty much the same. I don't take my blood pressure unless I get other symptoms. So while it wasn't necessarily a waste of money, it's not long term usage either. More of a safety net.

I chose to wear medical alert jewelry because I was found by two non-medical people. They didn't have medical info for EMT's but that didn't mean it took longer for the EMT's to get there. I'm more of a belts and suspenders person so I feel more comfortable with the devices even though the EMT's may not see them or read them.

So I'll reiterate. If you feel like medical alert jewelry will help, go ahead and wear it. If you feel like medical alert jewelry won't help, don't wear it. Other stuff is usually a waste of money.

Theknotguy

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Member Quotes

A properly implanted and adjusted pacemaker will not even be noticeable after you get over the surgery.