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 necklaces are very helpful for such persons. These necklaces and the pendants with them can be engraved with brief but vital medical bio data and the ID of the patient—for example, his or her name, telephone number, name of the doctor and a brief description of the person’s illness. They can be made in beautiful designs in steel, sterling silver or gold.

In addition to the above information, such necklaces can also be fitted with very small, lightweight and non-intrusive electronic medical alarm transmitter buttons designed to alert emergency services in the event of a medical problem. For example, if you slip and fall in your bathroom and fracture your hip, all you need to do is to press the button on your necklace and you can get help in a short time. This system can connect to your home telephone line and place a call for help. Your family members, friends and physician receive the alert, and the doctor reaches you with the help you need. These gadgets may be expensive, but a little search may enable you to find you inexpensive medical alarm systems also. These devices are fitted with batteries, which have a pretty long life.

It is important, before buying such alarms or alert systems, that you make a thorough enquiry about the services of the monitoring agency- whether it is doing the monitoring itself, or contracted out the job. The monitoring should be professional and efficient, since lives are at stake. Efforts, therefore, should be made to buy the gadgets and services of a certified monitoring agency.

Medical jewelry designers have found a compromise solution to reduce this feeling of awkwardness by creating some artistic and attractive accessories, which serve their medical purpose by providing the critical medical identification and also look fashionable and trendy on the wearer. Moreover, wearing these gadgets gives the patients a great sense of security, confidence and peace, besides providing them with a Medical Alert system that can connect them to their family members and doctors in the event of emergency. They are of invaluable help to patients suffering from critical ailments such as cardiovascular complications, diabetic problems or sudden fainting or strokes.

A Medical Alert or alarm system has dual communication lines. It sends messages to the family or friends of the patient, and also an SOS to summon aid immediately from the medical agency that constantly monitors his condition.

These Medical Alerts and alarm systems have three important parts: a medical alarm button embedded in the pendant of the necklace or the bracelet, an alarm console to dial for help, and a Medical Alert service that monitors and responds to the call for help.

The market is crammed with such designer accessories. You may surf the Internet, visit a store personally or wade through the Yellow Pages, TV or the newspaper advertisements. The more you search, the more you are likely to be confused. It is better to be practical. Rather than giving preference to the glamour value of the gadget, you should consider its technical features and usefulness for your health. The unfamiliar technical jargon may baffle you. The best course would be to consult your doctor, or a fellow sufferer of the disease that is afflicting you.