medic alert bracelet style-teens

I went to the fire station and asked the paramedics about this very issue. My dd is 11 and has a friend with a pretty gold medic alert bracelet. I had received in the mail a little brochure from Medic Alert. I took it to the fire station and showed them the brochure. They did not know that the gold ones or beaded ones existed. They said in an emergency they are trained to look for the traditional silver one. I posted that on this board and some people posted that the paramedics are supposed to know that the Medic Alert bracelet comes in different styles. Whether the paramedics are supposed to know or not, the fact is that they don`t all know. That is enough for me to say I don`t want to take the chance. The whole point in having the bracelet is to make people aware of the allergy. The beaded ones are really cute and the gold one is really pretty, but for us it is the traditional silver one only. I did let dd pick one with an emblem that is purple instead of red, but that is about as far as I am willing to go from the traditional one.

Carefulmom- my DD must have the same bracelet your DD has- she has the Medic Alert, but the emblem is purple too.
Yes, I agree about the traditional silver/metal bracelet being more recognizable. DD is almost 11, and I do not intend on changing/upgrading her bracelet. She can always wear a fancy bracelet on her other wrist- if she decides to.

I also checked with our fire department regarding the different style bracelets. I got the same answer - they see the regular ones right away and they might not notice the newer style thinking it was just regular jewelry. The idea is good that they are trying to make these more fashionable but until that catches on, we are staying with the regular one.

I think I am the minority I am finding on these medical bracelts topics....but I am happy with my purchase non-the-less.
[url="http://www.laurenshope.com/product.aspx?id=81&cat_id=13"]http://www.laurenshope.com/product.aspx?id=81&cat_id=13[/url]
This is my sons bracelt. It is very bright green(goes along nicely with the stickers I put on his lunch box and backpack from allergykids as well). But the braclet is very noticable, and metal tag is very noticable as well as the medical symbol on the tag. *I* am very happy with this bracelt.
I don't think I would go the beaded braclet route myself....BUT it is better then nothing, right?? If it's constructed well and the tag is good, then I think whatever the band looks like isn't a big deal. You really want that shiney bright medical tag to be the attention getter....the firemen know when they see those. I went to our fire dept when I got Jake's braclet(they also inspect my car seats, I'm there often), they honestly were fine with it...because it was the tag that mattered. Just-my-opnion [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
------------------
Chanda(mother of 4)
Sidney-8 (beef and chocolate, grasses, molds, weeds, guinea pig & asthma)
Jake-6 (peanut, all tree nuts, eggs, trees, grasses, weeds, molds, cats, dogs, guinea pig & eczema & asthma)
Carson-3 1/2 (milk, soy, egg, beef and pork, cats, dog, guinea pig)
Savannah-1 (milk and egg)

The issue I have with just the tag looking like Medic Alert is that if the person is unconscious the tag may be the part that is covered by the wrist with only the chain facing up. Is a paramedic really going to lift up the wrist to see if there is a tag under it? Our paramedics said they would not know to do that if the chain part that they could see was not silver. You have to really picture the emergency happening. In our school one of the pa kids was found unconscious. If he had not had the silver chain showing, I am not sure anyone would have known he was pa. Even worse with a girl---with just a gold chain or beaded chain showing, it looks just like a bracelet that is intended to only be jewelry.

DD does have some of the beaded bracelets. We pair them with Medic Alert tags. But they cannot get wet and taking them off of showering and swimming is a pain.
While dd normally wears the traditional one, I would rather have her wear one then not, if she wants a dresser look - teen type issues. So I guess that I agree that the regular one is better, but if it is style or nothing....
And when she required EMT services last year- sports not nuts - they did look at all of her bracelets including the stupid Lance Armstrong rubber things that everyone wore at that time. But then again I think they were trying to determine if she was in shock with conversation.
[This message has been edited by Chicago (edited February 05, 2007).]

I think they do look. They have to get a pulse anyways, they lift up sleeves all the time. What about the dog tags, I know a few at our school that wear those?? I personally don't want him to wear a dog tag, becuase it is hidden under his shirt...but his bracelet is in plain view.
here is a random pic of my son, he has the weirdest face, sorry(he's eating a very sour candy) but his bracelet is very noticable, even with long sleeves.
[img]http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h138/seetsjakers/Birthdays2007-24.jpg[/img]
------------------
Chanda(mother of 4)
Sidney-8 (beef and chocolate, grasses, molds, weeds, guinea pig & asthma)
Jake-6 (peanut, all tree nuts, eggs, trees, grasses, weeds, molds, cats, dogs, guinea pig & eczema & asthma)
Carson-3 1/2 (milk, soy, egg, beef and pork, cats, dog, guinea pig)
Savannah-1 (milk and egg)

.
[This message has been edited by Lindajo (edited February 05, 2007).]

Quote:Originally posted by chanda4:
[b]I think I am the minority I am finding on these medical bracelts topics....but I am happy with my purchase non-the-less.
[url="http://www.laurenshope.com/product.aspx?id=81&cat_id=13"]http://www.laurenshope.com/product.aspx?id=81&cat_id=13[/url]
This is my sons bracelt. Just-my-opnion [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
[/b]
Chandra, That looks just like my 10 yr DS's bracelet. It is the leather one and he loves it. I too have showed this to the fire department and paramedics. I see them quite often when I am grocery shopping. We talk all the time. A few weeks ago there were some new guys with the old ones. My DS just happened to be with me. We showed them and they said it "shouldn't be a problem" I also learned from these guys that they would not use DS's Epi-pen...They will use there own epidepherine.
I like the quality of the laurenshope bracelet and even though a bit pricey would order from them again. They went out of there way to include some info on the back. I really appreciated that.
pp
[This message has been edited by perpetually perplexed (edited February 05, 2007).]

DO NOT buy a beaded medicalert bracelet. I have tried so many and they all have broken. The anklets are especially incomfortable. I gave up on beaded ones, but still did not want to wear an ugly bracelet that was an obvious distinction of my allergy. Instead I went to Tiffany & Co. and used their medical bracelet template and engraved "Peanut Allergy" on it. I'be had it for years, and it is one of the best investments I've made.