Talking Allergies

My son will be attending pre-school in January (he is 2 1/2 years), and I would like him to wear a medical ID bracelet because of his food allergies. He is anaphylactic to peanuts & tree nuts so we carry an epi-pen, and allergic to wheat & soy. I would appreciate some guidance regarding a few things:

1) I was thinking of getting him the Universal Medical ID bracelet which is recommended by our doctor & allergy specialist, but would MedicAlert be more beneficial or necessary?

2) What information should go on his bracelet? I think the sports band version only allows five lines, so it is pretty limiting, but the most practical for a 2 year old. And he can't carry a back-up wallet card. The epi-pen will be readily available wherever he goes, but he will not be carrying it himself. I've heard not to include children's names for safety reasons, is that standard? Do I put all allergies, or just the peanuts / tree nuts? What do I include for contact information?

As you can tell, I need a lot of help with this one. Experienced advice would be greatly appreciated. Neither MedicAlert nor Universal Medical will offer a straightforward opinion.

Thanks.

The advantage of Medic-Alert is the network they have. You can be anywhere and someone can call in and get all your info. I also found it a better ft for me because I have another medical issue where there is very specific wording my doctor wanted used, and Medic-Alert could easily do this for me.

I'm not sure about kids bracelets. I have a student with allergies who is 4, and he keeps losing his bracelet He has a standard chain one. I had this same one, and when it broke recently, I strung it up on some stretchy string one uses for beading, along with some beads, and it looks great. Also I can take it off at night, which should prevent it breaking again I tried the Medic-Alert sport band and found it very uncomfortable.

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Asthma and eczema
Drug allergy (succinylcholine)
Food (corn, raw apples, green beans, tree nuts, flax)
Misc (pollen, grass, mold, dogs, cats)

Hi,

My son who is now 10 has been wearing a Medic-Alert bracelet since starting preschool at 3 (if you get him used to it when he is young it becomes part of them). All the allergies are listed, plus that he uses an epipen (RX....) and that he has asthma. Also more information is on the medic alert file such as all the contact numbers (me, dad, doctors) plus any additional medical conditions or concerns (such as any other medications).

When he was little he wore the basic bracelet - it did sometimes break so we switched to a sports band which he likes (but he was probably around 6 when we made the switch). I have never heard of the other bracelet you mention.

Hope this helps

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Jacqueline Labossière-Jager
Stittsville, ON

son - born 1998, allergy to peanut, nuts, sesame, shellfish and kiwi; a bunch of allergies to plants, animals, etc. and asthma
daughter - born 2003, no known allergies

Our doctor has let us know that getting a medic-alert bracelet for our son now is a must. As he is so young I'm afraid that he will outgrow the chain every few months. Velcro isn't an option as he'll pull it off and eat it. There are only two sizes for the plate itself listed online and the smallest one seems huge for his tiny wrist. Has anyone's infant worn a medic-alert bracelet?

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

Our daughter started at about 2 1/2 with a velcro bracelete and it was fine. I do see your concerns about both the velcro and the chain.

i would be inclined to opt for the chain and add a few links as needed.

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

DS was about 14 months when we bought his first MedicAlert bracelet. At that time we only knew about his dairy and egg allergies (he carried an epipen for this). The first one we bought was too large and he was able to pull it off. We found out about the nut allergies and I wanted a new bracelet with the updated info so we bought a smaller one. It took maybe 2 days for him to get used to it and now he just ignores it. I think he thinks it is a watch like mommy and daddy wear. I recently noticed it was getting a bit too small so rather than order a new one I just took the larger chains from the outdated emblem and put it on the new emblem. The emblem says "allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, egg. Needs epipen." I think this is the one we bought. http://www.medicalert.ca/en/products/pa ... d=1&p=I100

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DS Sept 2006 - peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs, coconut; contact reactions. Asthma. Many animal and environmental allergies.
DS Oct 1990 - Environmental allergies

Thanks everyone, I ordered the one you suggested Diana. I was quoted under 10 dollars to purchase a new chain, hopefully we can get a year out of each size. I feel more comfortable with this style bracelet as he won't be able to get it off and eat it, choke on it and of course loose it.

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

Hi there, we just recently purchased my son a universal medical ID braclet for his allergies. They were very helpful in what to put on the braclet, which on the front (top) was just the first letter of his first name and his last name, then if they have asthma goes next, then allergic to: ...... then needs epi-pen. on the back they put his other meds for his puffers and my contact info "Contact parents: ....." with our home and cell number which is always on me.

they have an online reg. as well where you can put all your details, which I wish I did as we had an emergency trip to the hospital the other week and could have used being able to just give her our code for the online info as I couldn't remember anything at that moment!

With regards to the braclet type, the lady on the phone when I called Universal Medical said that for a 2 year old (my son just turned 2) the sports band won't fit, but the chain bracelt has removal links so you can size it to any wrist size. We had to remove I think 6 or so chains and it fits fine. When he gets older we'll just add links.

Hope this added info helps! Good luck

Some kids wear the bracelet on their ankle. When I renewed my first aid they said to check neck, wrist and ankles for medical info.

My daughter had the velcro sports style a few years ago and the part attaching the ID to the bracelet broke (I fixed it) and then the whole bracelet came off in a lake --- it was actually found and returned to MedicAlert who sent it to us. By that point we had the stainless steel kind. She has also tried the necklace but prefers the bracelet. She hates to be without it after having it for 6 years!

She has to take it off for some sports but puts it right back on.

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

I've heard some sports will allow it to be worn if the player wears a sports band around it (those terry cloth tennis sweatbands).

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

That is true Susan --- in our experience it depends on the ref. For volleyball she said it was akward. For soccer most refs said she could not wear it unless it was taped. And for basketball it has not been an issue - she loves basketball

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

When my sons were playing baseball the rule was NO JEWELRY. I refused to remove their medic-alerts. They said they had to be taped -- again I refused. In an emergency untaping takes to much time.

I was very fortunate -- the people in charge were open minded to listening. The NO JEWELRY rule is a safety rule. Get hit with the ball it might hurt -- get his with the ball where there is jewelry can lead to a more serious injury. They were willing to allow a terry cloth sports band covering the bracelet.

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Also, I wanted to point out that paramedics are dealing with emergencies where seconds count. They don't always take the time to look for necklaces and ankle bracelets. The wrist is the first place they look.

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self: allergy to sesame seeds and peanuts
3 sons each with at least one of the following allergies: peniciilin, sulfa-based antibiotic, latex, insect bites/stings