- By Jim Evans
- Around Town
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| A few years ago, my heart stopped functioning properly. A cardiac artery was blocked, and I felt some strange and scary symptoms. The blockage was relieved with a stent, and the hospital that installed it included a detailed lecture to all such patients. They don’t want to see us again. Heeding that information has kept me healthy, and I want to share what I’ve learned. | ||
You’re probably familiar with medical ID jewelry, such as Medic Alert. A look on line will show that hundreds of companies offer bracelets in gold, silver, stainless steel, leather, holographic plastic, and silicone.
Several sites offer silicone bracelets for a very low price. They come impressed with a phone number and an ID number. You register the ID number on line, so someone can call the phone number, punch in the ID, and a voice reads all the data you’ve entered at the Web site.
More upscale jewelry has room for your name, and/or basic information, such as Blood Thinner, Diabetic, or Stent Card.
If a bracelet isn’t your style, dog tags also come in a wide range of materials and prices. I wear a dog tag from Road ID. It lists my name, town, top-of-the-list info such as Stent Card, and the contact numbers. If the EMT enters the URL, all my medical history displays on their computer screen.
With one of these “smart” bracelets or dog tags, you pay a small up-front price for the actual object plus a low annual fee for storing your info on line, updating it as often as you like, and relaying it to medical personnel. EMTs are trained to look for medical IDs.
On me, they’d find not only the dog tag but also my nitro. If you have a prescription for nitroglycerin, it will do no good in your medicine cabinet unless you have a heart attack in your bathroom. Once a month, put three fresh tablets into a pencil-thin steel container and throw away the old ones. Wear the nitro with your medical ID. Rubber band the items together if the jingling annoys you. Once a year, throw away all your nitro and refill your prescription. Nitro is highly unstable and goes stale and useless fast.
Don’t bother with the El Cheapo medical ID bracelets in the drug store that hold a little info you write on a piece of paper to store under a popup cover. This is your life we’re talking about, and you want something waterproof, indestructible, and reliable.
I strongly urge everyone over maybe as young as five to equip themselves with a medical ID. We heart patients aren’t the only ones who might find ourselves in danger, unable to speak, or unable to remember important contacts, numbers, medication details, allergies, whatever. Wearing a medical ID is almost like having super-cheap health insurance. At least you’re much less likely to get the wrong treatment.
Please direct comments and questions for this series to me This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
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