My cousin, H, is a regular Blogabetes reader. When I’ve written a particularly good or provocative post I can count on getting an e-mail with the subject line: “Blog” and body that simply says: “LOL” or “You nailed it” or “Are you OK?”. But last week when I wrote about the Merits of Medical Jewelry, my cousin, who works in the health-care field, sent me a much longer e-mail that sparked a debate between us about the very thing I had written about: should the medical jewelry you wear be the standard-looking, sterling silver/gold or can you had a little flair?
 

I quizzed the author of WhiteCoat’s Call Room, a blog from inside the emergency department, for his thoughts on the matter.  

Michelle: What are your thoughts on wearing "pretty" ID bracelets or necklaces or wearing charm-type tags on a watch or bracelet? By "pretty" I mean a medical ID plate with fashionable beads as the bracelet/necklace part. 

WhiteCoat: I think that you'd have to reach a critical mass of knowledge that they exist before they would be useful. For example, the "ICE" movement for cell phones is still in its infancy despite many advertising campaigns. Right now everyone knows what Medic ID bracelets look like and knows where to look for them. They're obvious if you're doing CPR or if you're trying to start an IV. If emergency providers saw a nice piece of jewelry, my guess is that in an emergency, they'd probably ignore it or remove it.
 

I think the thing that separates medic alert bracelets from other jewelry is brand recognition. Imagine going to a foreign town and having each McDonald’s with a different logo instead of the "golden arches" or each cereal brand in a supermarket having a different box in a different store.
 

Michelle: So, what you're saying is if I'm wearing a bracelet that has a standard-looking, sterling silver medical ID plate with the red medical cross/snake and the chain part was, say, black beads the whole thing may get overlooked or ignored?
 

WhiteCoat: Tough call. My guess is the further the jewelry strays away from the silver plate/red emblem/silver chain, the more chance there is that it will be overlooked. I don't think that anyone would purposely ignore a medic alert once it's been identified, but the more it looks like a piece of jewelry instead of a device to communicate essential medical information, the more likely it will be mistaken for simply a piece of jewelry. If the ID plate is laying under the portion of a person's arm when the person is unconscious, EMTs will still know what the silver chain means: look for the plate. If the ID plate is hidden and attached to a gold chain or pink ribbon, people seeing the chain or ribbon will probably mistake it for just another piece of jewelry.
 

Remember the function of the ID bracelet is a communication tool. It is there to talk for you when you can't talk for yourself. If you have the need to be stylin', just buy yourself a regular piece of jewelry and wear them both.
 

Michelle: It's funny that I thought my insulin pump would be enough of a giveaway that I was diabetic, but I get more "is that your pager/iPod/garage door opener" comments than I ever thought I would!
 

WhiteCoat: You'd be surprised how many people still don't know what an insulin pump looks like.

My thanks to WhiteCoat for a speedy, honest reply. Be sure to check out the post (and comments) he wrote about our conversation.