how many wear medic alert bracelets

deerslayer · Post by **deerslayer** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:56 am

just curious to see how many here wear the dern things. assuming that a percentage of us have something else going on health wise. i went for a surgical consultation yesterday and he blurted out that i needd to have one of them things on me. i said it's enough to make one paranoid and he said" better to be paranoid than dumb"......well alrighty then

kayfouroh · Post by **kayfouroh** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 9:09 am

For OSA? No.

I wouldn't imagine anyone that would wear one for OSA. Maybe coupled with Narcolepsy, though..

jasper · Post by **jasper** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:27 am

I've never heard of that, and I don't plan to wear one. If I'm "out of it" with altered mental status for any reason, the EMTs and ED staff will be addressing the basics: airway, breathing and circulation. OSA is in the background at that point.

deerslayer · Post by **deerslayer** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:29 am

kayfouroh wrote:For OSA? No.

I wouldn't imagine anyone that would wear one for OSA. Maybe coupled with Narcolepsy, though..

.................................................................key phrase being assuming that a percentage of us have something else going on health wise.

kayfouroh · Post by **kayfouroh** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 10:54 am

deerslayer wrote:
kayfouroh wrote:For OSA? No.

I wouldn't imagine anyone that would wear one for OSA. Maybe coupled with Narcolepsy, though..
.................................................................key phrase being assuming that a percentage of us have something else going on health wise.

I know, that's why I said Narcolepsy!

GumbyCT · Post by **GumbyCT** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:10 am

My understanding is that most EMT's today are also trained in CPAP to keep airway patent on a conscious patients.
Better than waiting until they go un-conscious. We always imagine that in case of Emergency - we will be able to tell who ever, whatever.

We never seem to imagine a situation where we are not able to communicate - that is where ALL medical Hx becomes significant.

Medic Alerts are always a good idea - esp. if YOU have to go for surgery. As I understand it most pain killers will relax your muscles.

jasper wrote:I've never heard of that, and I don't plan to wear one. If I'm "out of it" with altered mental status for any reason, the EMTs and ED staff will be addressing the basics: airway, breathing and circulation. OSA is in the background at that point.

sharon1965 · Post by **sharon1965** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:30 am

i don't wear a bracelet, but i do carry a medical alert card in my wallet

deerslayer · Post by **deerslayer** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 11:31 am

good insight GumbyCT. in my case doc wants me to wear because of mitril valve reguritation, prompting the need for anti-biotics before surgery.plus it's a good idea to have knowledge of possible allergic(anniflactic) events,meds taking,etc. i am supposed to carry a epi pen w/ me ........doc also said it was a good idea to have a 411 # on your cell phone I.C.E.-in case of emerg.

JeffH · Post by **JeffH** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:21 pm

For my pacemaker, yes. For OSA, no.

jasper · Post by **jasper** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:47 pm

All good points. I would certainly wear a bracelet for any of a number of conditions that might require pertinent information in an emergency. For me, OSA by itself is not one of them. Others may differ, and that's fine.

Regarding CPAP use by EMS, there are different types of systems used, and they are quite different from the CPAP we use at home for OSA. The type I'm familiar with is the oxygen powered device such as the Whisperflow supplied by Respironics. It can provide up to 140 L/min of flow, and is used for more than just splinting the airway. See the following link for more info.

http://whisperflow.respironics.com/Features.asp

This is an excellent tool in the field and I've seen it rescue patients in dire respiratory distress from CHF.

SisterShotgun · Post by **SisterShotgun** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:04 pm

I have a card in my wallet that says I have sleep apnea, I wear a medical ID bracelet for my diabetes.

goose · Post by **goose** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:19 pm

What SisterShotgun said....Until I get a new Medic Alert bracelet. I'll add OSA to that -- not a big deal to do that.....

EMS is going to keep your airway open anyway, but when you get to the hospital and perhaps need surgery it might be something the gas passer and surgeon will want to know about (Like the way I avoided having to spell anesthesiologist??)...

cheers
goose

jsmythe · Post by **jsmythe** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:25 pm

deerslayer wrote:just curious to see how many here wear the dern things. assuming that a percentage of us have something else going on health wise. i went for a surgical consultation yesterday and he blurted out that i needd to have one of them things on me. i said it's enough to make one paranoid and he said" better to be paranoid than dumb"......well alrighty then

Sorry, Off Topic: I love your new avatar DeerSlayer! She is beautiful!

Shadowatcher · Post by **Shadowatcher** » Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:06 pm

I wear one for a heart condition but not OSA.

ArtWench · Post by **ArtWench** » Mon Mar 10, 2008 10:12 pm

Actually this is an excellent topic. Several years ago, I underwent a rather intense spinal surgery and though I told my surgeon about the sleep apnea and brought my cpap to the hospital with me, no one thought to put it on me in recovery even though I kept having waking apnea incidents. I will never forget the look of terror on my friend's face as husband ran to the car to retrieve my machine. My friend and a nurse were monitoring the incidents and yelling, "Breath, Angela! Breath!" Every time I stopped."

So, yeah, I think that I am going to look into a Medic Alert bracelet.

Machine	Mask

Additional Comments: straight cpap 12.20 AHI avg.0.79

Mask

Additional Comments: Equipment isn't correct, S9 ASV w/H5i

Mask	Humidifier

Mask	Humidifier

how many wear medic alert bracelets

how many wear medic alert bracelets

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