June 05, 2008

Alzheimer's Medical Alert Bracelet – How to Use It

If you or a member of your family is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, you may want to think about a special Alzheimer's medical alert bracelet. It can come in handy if you ever have an issue with your parent or spouse or whoever the patient wandering off somewhere they shouldn't. It can be very difficult even for law enforcement or emergency medical personnel to assist such ones if they cannot verbalize themselves their condition, or give them an emergency contact name and phone number.

Such persons undergoing from chronic conditions have been using medical alert bracelets for years as a means to inform emergency services of their condition, allergies, medications, and so on in the event they are found unconscious. An Alzheimer's medical alert bracelet works in much the same way. It can alert medical personnel of the patient's condition and any medications they're on. Moreover, it can help law enforcement in the event that the patient is found wandering or someplace they shouldn't be.

There is an entire business now built around making good-looking Alzheimer's medical alert bracelet, so there's no need to think that some clunky military-style chain is your only option. In addition, there is no law or regulation that states what information must be on such a bracelet, so don't think that your patient will be neglected if they're not wearing the "right" style of bracelet. Normally anything with the medical alert charm will alert the proper personnel that the patient has a condition. Any additional information after that is helpful. Some Alzheimer's medical alert bracelets can even be homemade with regular beading kits, and you can add your own charms and links.

Apparently you don't need to make your own Alzheimer's medical alert bracelet if that's "not your cup of tea." There are many places online that sell them in a variety of styles. There are some companies that have even designed a small type of GPS system that fits into the bracelet to be able to find your patient if he or she should wander off. This type of Alzheimer's medical alert bracelet is helpful if your patient has a tendency to wander off or if he or she is experiencing uncertainty. It's rare that such a patient cannot be found but it does happen, and so this type of small chip in a bracelet may be worth the few extra dollars it costs.

3 comments:

Stefanie Sinks said...

The Alzheimer's Association now partners with Medic Alert, and offers the Medic Alert + Safe Return Program. Enrolling in this provides the person with dementia (and the caregiver, should they so choose) a bracelet indicating that this person has a memory impairment. If a person is found wandering and/or if a person calls Medic Alert + Safe Return to inform them that a person has wandered, the local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association will be notified and can work with local law enforcement with hopes of enabling a "safe return". Log on to the Alzheimer's Association web site, www.alz.org, or call, (800) 272-3900.

Carol D. O'Dell said...

Thanks for this info.
I was just speaking to someone an hour ago about getting an ID bracelet for their mom--what she really needs is to swallow a tiny GPS device so they can track her every movement!

Hey! Maybe I could invent that!

My mom loved to sneak out--she was worse than a teenager--but it's dangerous for an elder with Alzheimer's and we need every resource we can get our hands on to keep them safe.

Some states are instituting a "silver alert," that will be used much like an "Amber alert" where the police are notified and keep an eye out for your loved one.

Thanks again,

Carol D. O'Dell
Author of Mothering Mother: A Daughter's Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir
available on Amazon
www.mothering-mother.com

Anonymous said...

Your blog has been very informative for me. It's amazing how a tiny piece of medal can be so detrimental to saving a person's life. If you or anyone you know comes across your blog is looking for a good site to check out some Medical bracelets, I would suggest: http://www.universalmedicalid.com/mkt_can/detailscategory.php?catid=1048027492

You can customize them anyway you want which definitely makes wearing them less of a chore. Good luck!