This is where the Medical Alert Service agencies step in to help you. The services supply very easy-to-use buttons or electronic transmission devices that can be activated just by pressing a button fitted in a necklace or bracelet. It may be stitched on your pillow or on your bed close to your arm or waist.

The moment you press the transmission button or the command module, it sends a panic alarm through radio frequencies to the base station of the Medical Alert Service, which monitors your call. It has your personal and medical details in its database, and instantly alerts your family members or doctor, as the case may be. These devices are also fitted with consoles, which immediately contact your family members or doctors, who can respond to your call immediately. They also try to talk directly to you, if you can respond. This also helps monitor your condition.

Some of these Medical Alert Services perform all the monitoring tasks themselves, while others contract out the job to other agencies. Some of these services may be excellent, while other may be just lousy. The best course to decide about the quality of their services, their devices and their credentials is to contact the state certifying department. Any negligence in this area of enquiry may cost you dearly.

Or, you may be surrounded by sympathetic friends who at once transport you to the hospital, but the doctor must diagnose your problem and precious critical time is wasted. Or still worse, you are already suffering from some serious medical problem and land in an emergency medical situation where you faint and cannot speak for yourself. This is where the Medical Alert Card comes to your help.

A Medical Alert Card contains your personal identification, including your name, age, weight, your telephone number and the numbers of your friends, family and physician, along with a brief but crucial description of your problem and what medication you are already on. This ID card may be placed in your purse, wallet or key chain for quick and easy reference. It would be more helpful to attach this ID card to a pendant filled with two-way electronic Medical Alert devices to explain the patient’s condition to the doctor or his family and friends, so that he can receive prompt medical attention. Carrying such a card makes the patient more secure and confident.

This ID card should be made of heavy-duty, durable plastic material with ample space to write personal information with a pen or marker. It should preferably be laminated and heat-sealed. Such ID cards are more useful if they are provided to young children bearing their personal details including their names and telephone numbers and addresses of their parents. It becomes easy to locate their parents if they get lost.

Medical Alert devices come in many shapes and designs. They may be in the form of buttons, necklaces, bracelets, pendants or wristwatches. They may have designer shapes. They may be made of precious metals like silver or gold, or come in practical shapes without any attention to their aesthetic appearance. Image-conscious wearers usually go in for these devices in form of fashionable (medical) jewelry, which is less likely to advertise their medical problems to others.

Since wearing these devices is often a medical necessity, one has to be careful before deciding which device is best suited to their type of disease. The simplest form of these devices are manufactured as jewelry items with the medical history of the patient, along with telephone numbers of his family and doctor, engraved on them. But far more useful than these are the jewelry items fitted with sensors and electronic mechanisms that activate the transmission system installed within, and connect to telephone lines or radio frequencies to contact the patient’s family, friends, and doctor, and also summon medical assistance. These devices contain the medical identity of the patient and the history of his disease so the critical time in diagnosing is not wasted.

Considering the millions of people the world over suffering from different medical problems, the market is awash with fashionable designer medical jewelry meant for these persons. Therefore, one must be cautious before spending money on them. It would be better to seek the advice of one’s doctor before deciding which device suits your medical condition. These devices are sophisticated, and likely to be costly and beyond the reach of ordinary persons. But if a thorough search is made through the Internet, Yellow Pages or other sources, cheaper but equally useful accessories can be bought. Care should also be taken about the reputation of the manufacturing company with regard to the product quality, guarantee of its effectiveness and after-sales service.