Talking Allergies

Since I"m new to this whole thing I have a few questions. What is the standard wording on Medic Alert bracelets? The woman who I spoke to wasn't very helpful and said it was up to me. Then, the bracelet came about 1/2 inch too small (the website said they would add 1/2 an dinch for comfort, but they didn't). When I called, they said I should send it back with a note and they'd resize. Do they also resize as the child grows or do you have to order a new bracelet?

Just looking for tips/advice. I know there is value in their database, but to be honest, I"m quite happy with the bracelet I picked up at the drugstore and had custom engraved. It says ALLERGY TO PEANUTS, EPIPEN 911. MedicAlert said they can't put 911 on the bracelet, which I think is unfortunate.

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DSs 7,7,9 all PA

Hi Becky, I am so sorry you had a bad experience with MedicAlert.
The MedicAlert staff I talked to were professional and very helpful. I told them my son's allergies and they advised me on how everything should be worded etc.. I gave them my son's exact wrist measurement and then they added the 1/2 inch to that. I did ask at the time about expanding the bracelet as my son' grows. I was happy to hear that when I need to purchase a longer bracelet the cost would only be approx. 10$.
I take comfort in the fact that in an emergency medical staff will be able to call 24/7 and get an update on my son's medical history, allergies, dr.'s, emergency contacts etc.. Not all my son's allergies are listed on his bracelet due to room and the fact that his allergies are constantly changing. This way I can update his file and add/remove items as I need.

I hope you can sort everything out.
All the best = - )

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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

We also had quite a number of allergies to list, and the customer service rep at MedicAlert helped me to come up with appropriate wording. We also had too many allergens to list; however, I did want to list as many as I could because I find non-medical people sometimes read his MedicAlert (eg. teacher, swim teacher, other sports coaches). Here's what we came up with:

HAS EPIPEN
ALLERGY:PEANUT
NUT-PEAS-EGG-FISH
SESAME-SUNFLOWER
SEEDS & OTHERS

There is a limit to the number of characters on each line (due to the oval shape of the medic alert) as well has having only 5 lines to work with for the medical information required. The 6th line has the actual MedicAlert membership number.

Hope this helps.

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14 yr old daughter: no health issues
11 yr old son: allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, sesame, sunflower, mustard, poppy seeds, green peas, some fruits, instructed to avoid all other legumes (except soy & green beans), pollen, cats, horses

I've also had some good and some bad experiences with medic alert. However, we've decided to stick with it for now and see how it goes.

Based on their advice, my DD's one says:
Anaphylactic Risk
Allergic to Peanuts - Milk - Eggs
Needs Epipen

She's now outgrown the milk allergy and the allergist suggested going to a jewelller and getting them to put a line through 'milk' for now rather than get a new bracelet.

When I got one for DS, I decided on the wording because I wasn't sure some lay people would know what anaphylactic meant, and I figure saying it's a severe allergy would get the point across better:

Severe allergy to peanuts - nuts - eggs - milk - kiwi
Needs Epipen

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DD 2004 Allergy to peanuts, egg, sesame, and new: lentils and chick peas
DS 2006 Allergy to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, kiwi fruit, eczema

Mine just says 'food allergies has epipen' because I have a drug allergy with a really long name that takes up a lot of space on the bracelet I did my order over the phone because I wanted to check the wording, and they had one of their experts call me back to go over everything with me to make the bracelet as helpful as possible.

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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)

When my son's allergies changed I called MedicAlert and just ordered a new oval plaque; they told me it was easy to put on his current bracelet and it was. I can't remember the exact cost but I want to say it was somewhere around $10.

As for the wording, we've had some different things depending on space (as the allergies changed).

Personally I think the MedicAlert bracelet is one part of the plan. My son (3yo) is forever taking it off (which I why I can't give you the exaxct wording of ours -- I don't know where it is) so at his age it is more important for me to make sure that whoever is taking care of him knows his allergies and what to do. Once he goes to school (in Sept) I will go to greater efforts to make sure he wears it.

Amanda

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DS 1: environmental allergies. DS 2: penicillin allergy, outgrew peanut allergy. DS 3: allergic to dairy, eggs, banana & tree nuts. DD: no allergies. DH: bee sting allergy, lactose intolerant. All have asthma. http://www.familynature.ca

I don't know if anyone else has found this, but my son (and myself, when I had one!) used to always play with the latch on the stardard metal Medic-Alert bracelets to the point where it was so loose that it would just slip off sometimes. It was like figuring out a puzzle - hard to break the habit once you figured it out.

When he was about 6, I decided to try one of the sport bracelets, and low and behold he never plays with it, and it has not fallen off. It has withstood swimming, bathing, showers and still looks good as new! He's almost 9 now.

Even as an adult I couldn't help playing with that clasp. So if you have a child that keeps trying to take it off, maybe the sport bracelet might be better!