Medical Alert Information

You should call emergency services anytime you feel as though you cannot handle the person

with first aid measures alone. There is no non-emergency number to call for an ambulance or

the police department (that are answered routinely) so you need to err on the side of safety

and call anytime you think the person needs to go to a hospital urgently.

If you are rendering first aid to someone you don’t know, it is a good idea to look for a medical

ID of some kind. This might be a medical alert bracelet, necklace, or sometimes even a tattoo

that has important medical information on it. Figure 2 in your guide shows what a medical alert

bracelet looks like. The goal of any type of medical identification is that it contains medical

information that can be used by the paramedics and doctors so treatment can be appropriate

even if the person cannot speak for themselves.

Figure 2: A medical alert bracelet

The key components of the medical alert jewelry include the person’s name, medical condi-

tions, allergies, and emergency contact information. It can contain a list of their medications if

this is important information for doctors to have. You might find that the person is diabetic and

their unconsciousness could mean that they have low or high blood sugar. This could ultimately

help the paramedics you call to care for the person appropriately sooner than they could have

without the bracelet. Usually, the person’s address and social security number are not on the

jewelry unless the person has dementia (making the address an important thing to know).