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MedicAlert Bracelets for Bipolar Disorder

Many people are familiar with medical alert bracelets worn for medical conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy, heart problems, drug and food allergies, and other conditions that may cause life-threatening emergencies. However, those with mental health disorders such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or anxiety disorders may also want to consider using this as well. It may mean the difference between jail and the hospital during a bipolar manic episode, and it may just save your life.
The deterrent to wearing a medical alert bracelet is the idea of "announcing to the world" that you have bipolar disorder. Agreed, it is a personal choice whether you decide to tell other people that you have bipolar. However, there are some pretty compelling reasons to seriously consider wearing medical alert jewelry:

• In an emergency, when you might not be able to speak for yourself, a medical alert bracelet can "speak" for you.
• Prompt and correct diagnosis is critical to effective treatment. Having a bracelet with your diagnosis on it would keep your symptoms from being misdiagnosed.
• Receiving the correct medication, and in a timely matter, may make the difference in whether you go into an episode or not. A brief description on your bracelet would ensure appropriate and timely medical care.
• Receiving the wrong medication may be life-threatening for you. Besides your diagnosis, you can have your medication engraved on your bracelet.

Also consider the following facts:

• According to a published study, half of all medical errors occur because of mistakes made upon admission or discharge from the hospital. Wearing a medical ID protects against potentially harmful medical errors.
• More than 95% of emergency responders look for a medical ID, and more than 75% check for a medical ID immediately upon assessing the patient. If you're wearing a medical ID, it won't be missed.
• Medical IDs eliminate trips to the hospital, reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and prevent minor emergencies from becoming major ones. Medical IDs even save lives!

There are many more choices available now than the original medical alert bracelet. There is also a necklace, dog tags, sports-bands, anklets, and even watches. The most common, though, is the medical alert CARD, which can hold more information than the jewelry. However, in case of separation between yourself and your wallet, the best thing would still be the necklace or jewelry. My best advice would be to cover both bases: Wear the jewelry AND carry the card.

If you are married, it is also a good idea to have your spouse carry a duplicate of the ID card in his/her wallet as well. Another tip about the card is to keep it with your insurance card, as the hospital will definitely look for that.

The front of the emblem generally bears the international symbol of medicine (the snake symbol). The back is usually engraved with your personal information. It can include information such as your medical condition, food or drug allergies, medicines, or an emergency contact number. Obviously the amount of space available on the emblem is limited (usually only 3-5 lines of about 15 characters each) so this information must be brief. An option is to include a line indicating you carry a medical ID card. Following are some examples:

Bipolar Disorder
Lithium & Zoloft
Penicillin Allergy

Contact Husband
Joe Smith
888.555.1234

Panic Attacks
Bipolar Disorder
Food Allergies
See Wallet Card

Some individuals choose to join a medical information organization, such as MedicAlert. The back of their ID carries their member identification number and a toll-free number to reach the organization, which holds an updated medical profile for them.

A great deal of information can be recorded on a medical ID card for easy reference. This usually includes: name, birth date, address, telephone numbers, emergency contacts, physicians' (and psychiatrist's) names and phone numbers, medical conditions, medications, food and drug allergies as well as the date it was printed. It may also indicate if you are an organ donor, or have a living will, and/or an advanced psychiatric directive.

The cost of medical alert ID's varies. Most of the companies that sell these IDs have very inexpensive versions available. MedIds has an online form for completing and printing a free wallet card. In addition, MedicAlert offers sponsored memberships. For more information on sponsored memberships, you can contact their Director of Contributions at 800-228-6222 ext. 2466.

In an emergency, medical personnel need to know our medical history, what conditions we have, and what medications we take. Unfortunately, sometimes in an emergency situation, we may become confused and unable to give this information, even though it can be vital to saving our lives. Worse yet, if we're unable to speak, who speaks for us? There are a variety of medical ID systems/tags available. From simple and inexpensive, to the more expensive, beautiful gold ID's, there's something available to fit everyone's budget and taste.

It is understandable that choosing whether or not to tell people that you have bipolar is a private matter. However, protecting yourself against misdiagnosis, improper care, untimely care, dangerous and possibly life-threatening drug interactions, the possibility of an episode, etc., may not be worth the chance you would take by not using at least one of the options listed in this article.

A brief description of vital medical facts, including the fact that you have bipolar disorder, engraved on your medical ID jewelry and/or wallet ID card ensures that you will receive the appropriate and timely medical care. It is also another relatively inexpensive "tool" you can place in your bipolar management "toolbox".

Here are some links where you can find information on medical alert ID's:

The original MedicAlert® - Helping save lives since 1956 Free necklace or bracelet w/sign up
Medical Alert Bracelet - Press the button on your Medical Alert Bracelet to summon help.
American Medical ID - Personalized medical ID bracelets and necklaces.

About the Author

Michele Soloway has dealt with bipolar disorder from a very young age. Her grandmother, mother, herself, and her teenage son all have the disorder. She also lost her sister to suicide because of bipolar disorder. Michele has a blog for bipolar survivors at http://bipolarsurvivor.blogspot.com, and is also a contributing writer to www.bipolarcentral.com.

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