Medical ID Bracelet

I don't have a child with medical issues, but my husband does. The list seems to get longer all the time. We decided to go with medic alert. They have varying sizes of bracelets, necklaces, dog tags, and so on. It is a yearly fee for the extra services but well worth it in case anything ever were to happen. You can keep the records with the company updated and when the hospital calls them with the id number from the bracelet they have all the info needed. We have the really important stuff on the id bracelet. It has made me feel much safer when we are apart and that if something serious does happen I don't have to remember everything, I can just concentrate on being with him.
Hope this helps. http://www.medicalert.org/

L.

I have found a great website www.laurenshope.com that I have used several times for myself & my mother. There are usually 15% off specials. They have cool boys dog tags, leather bracelets, etc. Hope you like them.

Hi L., there are tons of medical alert braclets, for a child you may want to try the less expensive ones they sell at Walmart in the pharmacy that are like the bracletts that older kids wear. They are rubber like and I have seen them in bright neon orange, green and yellow (no sissy colors!). I purchased mine on line though medic alert and it was around $35 and my husband has had to fix it a dozen times (the links between the tag and the actual chain are not good at all!) You might also want to consider a necklas instead of a braclett until he is older. Then there is the most permant (I don't recommend this!) a friend of mine is a Type 1 diabetic and she got the word Diabetic tatooed on the outside of her wrist rather than wear anything....I think that's a bit extreem, but to each his own. Good luck and best wishes.

Maybe someone already said this...laminated card pinned to the back of the shirt. I work in the nursery at church, and have seen several parents do this. The child doesn't even know it's there, so they don't try to remove it (nor can they!).

Here are some neat Medical ID bracelet options, that may be an additional support for your situation.

http://www.kiddosdelight.lovablelabels.ca/newproducts.asp...

All the best,
P.

You've had a lot of great advice. I want to share with you what I have done. My daughter is allergic to nuts and had a anaphalytic episode a couple of years ago and my MIL had to use the epipen. One thing we didn't know until the paramedics told us, was that we also had to have Benadryl with the allergic reaction to control the reaction itself. The epipen only works to control the anaphylaxis! So, we have epipens and the Benadryl Perfect Measure spoons everywhere - in my purse, daycare, at the in-laws, our house, etc. Keep the Benadryl handy!

My daughter is also starting Kindergarten in a few weeks and I am so worried about her nut allergy and making sure others are aware of it. I found some awesome kids' medical ID bracelets online. They have all colors and they are sized for kids her age. I got her a pink camo one and she loves it! It has the medical alert symbol on it and says "Vital ID inside." So, you just unvelcro the bracelet and inside is a waterproof tab that has her name, allergies/medical issues, what to do for it, her doctor's name and number, and emergency contact numbers. It was only about $13 and it is just great. I ordered hers from www.bellycharms.com, but you can get them online at Amazon and several other places. Just google "medical ID bracelets for kids." Best of luck - I can certainly relate!

Ask you pediatrician! They will have some answers. Also, MedicAlert is a specific company and they have tons of options. My recommendation is that you have something he cannot take off. I have a gold medic alert bracelet that I had made for myself that has no clasp, it is soldered right on my arm (ouch, not "on" but rather the link was soldered while the bracelet was already on. LOL). I can't be tempted to take it off. They have ones that are not glaringly ugly or obvious but that medical personnel will recognize immediately. I was the "one" with the severe medical issues. Right now you have very little choice but to be the on site all the time but you will eventually need to cede some of the control to others including teachers and other caregivers. The best thing my parents did was teach me how to communicate my issues and limitations as well as assure me that I wasn't defective but rather special and had to be treated as special. No prima donna but merely created different. I carried a laminated card in my pocket at all times that explained my issues and gave easy to read directions to both lay people and medical personnel that included phone numbers to my parents and physicians and **** permission for me to be treated at any hospital if an emergency****. Here is a little breath of fresh air for you - many children outgrow their allergies of infancy/toddlerhood either entirely or greatly in severity. I still do not eat the foods that I was told as a kid I couldn't eat because I don't believe in "tempting the Gods" but I don't have to be so diligent either. Asthma also decreases in severity for many as they age as well. Good luck. I hope this helped.

I haven't read the other posts, but I do have a daughter that had dairy allergies and a peanut allergy. We carry a Epi Pen with us all the time and when she went to Pre-K, they had one there as well. She has since outgrown the dairy allergy, but not the peanut, so we still have to be careful. When she first started going to a Mother's Day Out program, I found online this place that has the cutest medical ID bracelets and Epi pen holders, plus more. It is in the UK, but they do ship over here.

The website is called: http://www.starallergyalerts.com.au/index.html

We had a medical bracelet made with dairy and peanut allergy listed on my daughters. It came with two interchangeable straps, but the clasp is very well made and they cannot get it open. We have had ours now for almost 4 years and it still looks great and she still can't get it open!
Most of the places, like sports facilities are trained for emergencies, but I would talk to the Director and see what kind of training they have in place in case your son has an emergency.
Good luck with this, I know how tough it is leaving them at first with other people, but as long as you know that these people are qualified and know how to administer an EpiPen if needed or an inhaler, he should be fine. Easier saying than doing though.

Steph

I myself was allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, wheat and I don't remember what else. My mom a medical alert bracelet for me that listed all of my allergies on the back. She taught me to show it to anyone who offered me food or candy. I still have mine in my keepsakes box.

My son is also allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. Because of this, I talked to my pastor about getting one for my son. We are Pentecostal and don't wear jewelry. My pastor said it was all right because it was for medical purposes but he wanted it to be hidden under his clothes. I did think he would object under the circumstances, I just wanted to verify how he felt about it. I decided that a medical necklace was probably easier to hide and chose that. I wish I can gone with the bracelet. I was raised Pentecostal when I had mine as well.

I just went to my local Walgreens and purchased one that they had displayed at the Pharmacy counter. I was quite satisfied with its quality.

As far as being afraid to be out of sight of your child, I am right with you. When away from home, I still evaluate everything he is offered and he is 9 now. Because of my nut allergies and my oldest sons nut allergies, I have not yet allowed my 2 year old or 4 year old have nuts yet. I am afraid too. It is not recommended to give nuts of any kind including peanut butter to a child under 3 years of age because there is such a rise in peanut allergies. My son first came in contact with peanut butter in our church nursery. His face swelled to almost twice its normal size and he had whelps on top of whelps from head to toe as well as trouble breathing. It was absolutely terrifying for me. His first contact with tree nuts came about 2 years later when I was making pumpkin bread at home to take to church to serve a group of ministers visiting. I am no longer allergic to tree nuts, but I am still severely allergic to peanuts. Anyway, I had been chopping pecans to to in the bread when the phone rang. I told my son not to touch it and ran to answer the phone (we still had a land-line at the time). While I was on the phone, he did what all young kids do and pulled the nut chopper off the table and a cloud of pecan dust covered his face, arms and some went down his shirt. In just a matter of minutes he was covered in whelps. This time it did not require a emergency trip, thankfully, since he and not ingested any. I did have to give him a bath, coat him in hydrocordizone and give him a dose of benedryl though.

I am still trying to teach my Mother in law and sister in law the difference between "Processed in a facility the processes peanuts and tree nuts" and "Processed on shared equipment with peanuts and tree nuts" One means, there are peanuts and tree nuts in the building, the other means, we just made peanut butter cookies on that equipment just before we made these chocolate chip cookies and we may have not clean the equipment properly. Duh!

L.~

My daughter had a horrible allergic reaction when stung by fire ants (we live in Texas and they're EVERYWHERE). She was 5 when it happened. I carry an epi pen for her because we don't know what else she might be allergic to and the doctor said the next reaction could be worse. She was old enough to recognize what stung her, she's her best advocate because she watches out for beds and warns others where they are.

You are a great Mom taking care of her sons the best way you know how. I have learned to trust my gut when it comes to my kids no matter what anyone else says. In my opinion, God gives us this gift as Mothers to help us care for our kids. Listen to yourself and be confident. When it is right for you to leave your youngest you will. You are not neurotic, you are doing what's best for your son.

I waited a long time to have children and not by my choice. I had multiple (more than 5) miscarriages and finally carried my daughter. I had a lot of complications, was on bed rest the ENTIRE pregnancy. After she was born I was terrified. I honestly didn't relax with her for a good 6 months (probably closer to her first birthday), I was afraid something was going to happen to her. I prayed a lot and decided she was God's first and He would protect her. I pray he uses me as his instrument to take the best care I can of my kids (had a son 4 years later). With my son I was able to enjoy him from the beginning, giving him to God as well.

If you have someone who you can talk to about your fears who understands you and the dynamics of your family, talk to them. Maybe keep a journal where you can see progress that you're making.

I think the bracelet is a great idea too. I think the laminated card in the child's pocket is a great idea too. I'm glad you're getting positive encouragement from others who know where you're coming from.

Blessings to you and your two boys!

I do know where you're coming from. My granddaughter was in the ER several times before she was 3. She never had anaphylaxis but she had major asthma attacks. She was hospitalized once. She is allergic to dust,pollen, peanuts, etc.

Because of her uncontrolled asthma her pediatrician recommended seeing a pediatric allergist. This helped tremendously. They tested her with pin prick testing to get a more accurate diagnosis of her allergies. He tested her lung capacity which is an important way to know if her asthma is under control. He put her on an anti-histamine and two inhalers, a rescue one and a daily preventive one. By the time she was in preschool her asthma was under control.

An ID bracelet is a good idea. The most important thing on it is your cell phone number and other numbers if you have them. Every time we leave my granddaughter with someone we also leave both her mother's and my phone numbers as well as her rescue inhaler. She has an epi-pen at school and day care. She's 10 now and knows what to do for herself which takes alot of the anxiety out of leaving her.

With a cell phone number and you being close by they can reach you and you can respond quickly. That's all you and they can do when it comes to classes such as you're describing. He will be OK. Anaphylaxis is very scary. I've had three such attacks. Two were when I was in the 6th grade and was bitten by several bees. Both times, my aunt and uncle rushed me to the doctor's office from 10-15 miles away. They lived on a farm. We had enough time to get medical treatment. The attacks started out slowly. The last one was while I was undergoing a medical procedure. The doctors waited a few minutes to see if I progressed further than difficulty breathing. Anaphylaxis is sometimes deadly but nearly always medical attention can be obtained in time.

Eventually you get used to the idea that he will be OK, especially if you focus on him being OK instead of on your fears. Prepare yourself, as you are with getting a bracelet, know signs and symptoms, have medication available, teach others who are around your child. The anxiety does lesson.

Do you have an epi-pen for him and know how to use it? I found that having that handy helped reduce my anxiety with my granddaughter.

Eventually, you'll get used to knowing what to look for as signs and you'll just automatically be aware without all the anxiety. I've noticed that with my granddaughter there are subtle signs before she has a full blown asthma attack. It took awhile to train her after school caretakers to take her seriously when she complained of being short of breath when she didn't appear to be short of breath.

About a bracelet. I grew up in the Yakima, WN valley during the cold war and concerns about being bombed because Richland's Atomic Energy Plant was nearby. We all got identity bracelets or necklaces. At his age, a bracelet is best because he could get tangled up with a necklace. The necklace is a chain like that for dog tags. However, they do have chains that break under pressure and he and you may prefer a necklace. I was in the first grade and got a "dog tag" and it was more acceptable to me then a bracelet. Just an idea.

If an id bracelet will help you feel less anxious then go for it. However, at 3, you're going to be with him or nearby most of the time.