My 17 year old son (dx at 12) has never wanted to wear a bracelet. Would a wallet card be good enough? Are there bracelets that a teen boy who doesn't wear any jewelry might wear? What do other T1D teens do?
Not for several years here ... so, no help. I get my solace from the fact that EMTs are trained to test for BG or so I am told.
He's pretty inconsistent, had dog tag style necklace for many years, then stopped wearing altogether. Leaving for college I told him I'd really like it if he'd wear it, given that in this new environment less people would know about his diabetes (here at home he's most often with friends or family who DO know...not that it's enough, but it's something). I ordered a black leather necklace and the thinnest/smallest inconspicuous id. It looks nice actually, it's long enough that you just see the leather and it doesn't seem like a medical id. He's wearing it currently, so we'll see.
Dd dx'd at 17 has always balked at the ID. I'm comforted by the fact that she wears the pump and EMTs would hopefully see it, but I'd love her to wear a bracelet! Unfortunately, not going to happen! I would think an EMT would see your son's pump before finding an emergency card in his wallet.
OK, well, I actually feel better about it now. I'll ask and see if he'd wear a necklace. Where'd you get the one you just ordered, nanhsot?
Have you maybe tried a different kind? I got one from a place called Sports Tag ID dot com (I'm in no way affiliated with this company and am not endorsing their products just stating where I bought my medical bracelet from). I got one of their ID's and it was like $30 bucks? doesn't look like a medical bracelet unless you go and read it. Very stylish and the band is a silicone/rubber material so its durable. I had an actual medicalert bracelet and it was ALWAYS breaking at practice so I gave up on wearing it. Found this website on a kijiji listing a month or so ago and figured hey even if I get tired of wearing it I can put it on my purse or bag and it will still be seen. It's pretty nice though I don't mind it at all.
Do you think they would recognize a pump? I wouldn't think they would with the exception of if they have acquaintances with T1. I even took my daughter to a Walgreens walk-in clinic for a strep test, and the NP there hadn't ever seen one.
The ID bracelet has been one of those weird things she doesn't balk at for some reason. We started out with a dog tag like one then moved to an actual bracelet. The chain is a little nicer than just a boring old school ID but it's definitely visible as a medical ID. I don't think she's actually removed it for a couple of years, she wears it in the shower, swimming etc.
Would he wear a dog tag? I got my son a medical ID dog tag from www.stickyjewelry.com. It looks like a soldier's dog tag with a camo silencer, so he thinks it's cool! Christine
My kids use sport bracelets, plain stainless steel bracelets, pandora style charms- the cheapest medic alert stainless bracelet has held up the best. The youngest wants to get the info tattooed on her wrist as she rarely lasts more than a week with a new bracelet.
Does he use a pouch for his pump? My 10 y/o will not wear his bracelet so I ordered a pump pouch with med alerts on it as well as his info inside of it, now I don't worry. I got it from an ETSY shop - Alert wear.
I didn't have time to read all of the replies so sorry if someone said this; I am a teen with diabetes, I didn't wear my bracelet AT ALL until I came to college (yesterday=D) because so very few people know me here and if I were ever stopped by police for being 'drunk' when I was really low I would want something on me that says I'm diabetic... I also wear a very traditional looking bracelet so it is easy to see do I hate wearing it? absolutely is it worth the annoyance? yes.
My teen wears these leather bracelets - he thinks they are cool - we bought the tan/black leather combo. You can't get these particular ones in the States but if he likes the look of them there are other sites that sell similar bracelets. http://www.medicalert.ca/en/join/products/listProducts.asp?colId=10
I didn't consistently wear a medical alert bracelet until college, for the same reasons as Jess, not many people know I have diabetes (not that I'm hiding it) as compared to high school where everyone I came in to daily contact with knew. I think my main problem with wearing one before is that I couldn't find on that fit my style. I ended up finding this: http://www.stickyj.com/yf1102.html#.UhfHuhtQGSo I love it, and it only comes off when I take a shower. I'm also thinking about getting a paracord medical ID.
I like that leather bracelet from stickyj! We recently ordered a necklace for my daughter from there as well. She had gotten out of the habit of wearing & like others I was not super worried about it because everyone around her knows. She just switched schools & was concerned. I told her...go online, find the one you want & will wear & I will buy it, because you are going to wear one, or not go. She loves the chain & alert that she picked.
Sorry, been out of town. For a long while he wore a dog tag from Lauren's Hope, good quality stuff. Just recently though I ordered a leather necklace from amazon and then a basic small id tag from American Medical ID, and paired them together. He's wearing it so far, but as someone else said, entering college is a big change and no one knows about diabetes like when you are surrounded by friends. I'd be hesitant to rely only on seeing/recognizing the pump, personally, It could be a good while before an EMT found it, or it could become disconnected in an accident. EMTs are trained to work quickly and efficiently, they do check necklaces/bracelets but are more concerned with working on airway and circulation. IMO it's risky to think they might check for a pump or even a diabetes tattoo.
Have her read diabetes dad article from a few days ago! Here is a link. http://diabetesdad.org/2013/08/22/a...young-it-may-change-another-we-can-only-hope/ In our home you wear your alert or you are not out alone without a family member. To many factors and it is my job to keep you safe. Just like when you were younger I could not let my two year old go walking around the play ground alone as they could not see the big picture nor can a teen. Please encourage and do what you have to and get your teen to wear a dog tag or a bracelet I would hate to hear of a loss due to non-treatment for a low.
