Difference between ICE IDs vs Medical IDs?
ICE ID
Many of you have taken the important step of adding a contact name to your cell phone contact list reading, “ICE,” which stands for “In Case of Emergency.” If you're involved in a vehicle accident or suffer some other type of injury or medical emergency and your cell phone is available it may be possible for a bystander or emergency personnel to get in touch with your emergency contact by searching your phone list.
While adding this ICE contact to your phone is a great idea, even more helpful may be buying and wearing an ICE ID bracelet or necklace. With the bracelet option, someone needing to contact your emergency contact person doesn't need to look for your cell phone and spend the time going through your contact list to find an ICE number. With an ICE ID bracelet, the needed information is obvious and immediately accessible.
Medical ID
A Medical ID bracelet is similar to an ICE ID bracelet in that it contains important information to be used in the event that you've become debilitated and are unable to provide needed information to those responding to your situation. The primary difference between the two is that a Medical ID bracelet is typically used by someone with a serious medical condition, while an ICE ID bracelet can be worn by anyone for the purposes of identification, medical condition or not. Some typical conditions for which individuals wear a Medical ID bracelet include:
- Alzheimer's Disease
- Anemia
- Asthma
- Cardiac problems
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Epilepsy
- Hearing impairment
- Hypertension
- Kidney disease
- Kidney disease
- Pacemaker use or other critical medical equipment
- Severe allergies (food, drug or insect)
- Special needs
- Stroke history
- Surgery or transplant patient
- Taking certain medications such as blood thinners
- Visual impairment
- Benefits of Wearing a Medical ID Bracelet
During a medical emergency, mere seconds can mean the difference between life and death. In some situations, a drug allergy needs to be known by first responders so they cause no harm by giving the wrong medicine to a patient.
Besides medical information, a Medical ID bracelet also contains basic info such as name, age, address and phone number. This data is especially important to have if the individual wearing the bracelet has Alzheimer's Disease or dementia and is unable to remember their own basic information.
A Medical ID will let first responders and medical personnel know about any chronic conditions from which you suffer and you can rest assured that, should you become injured and unable to respond, paramedics are trained to check for a Medical ID bracelet when encountering a patient. The use of a Medical ID bracelet can not only improve your overall medical care during an emergency medical event but will also provide you with peace of mind knowing that, if needed, the important information regarding your health status is readily available to those who need it to provide you with the best care possible.
It will also bring peace of mind to your loved ones, knowing that you have this extra protection on your person at all times. A Medical ID bracelet can also preclude unnecessary trips to the hospital because there's a medical issue occurring amid confusion that causes an unneeded trip to the ER out of an abundance of caution. These trips to the hospital can be very costly and, in some cases, may be refused payment by your insurance company.
Many Styles and Materials
Both Medical ID bracelets and ICE bracelets are available in a range of styles and materials and can be engraved with your choice of informational data. The Medical ID bracelet option will usually carry the medical symbol known as the Caduceus. They are typically made durable enough to last for many years.
Emergencies can happen at any time to anyone. Having an instant means of identification and for supplying important medical information can be imperative in certain situations and give you a needed advantage when time really counts. IDs come in many forms including bracelets, medallions and ID cards. There are also IDs especially made for children. Some of these IDs can be scanned with a smartphone to bring up a person's complete medical history, while others may include a website that medical personnel can go to, enter the code on the ID, and get more complete information.
It's such a small thing, takes so little time to order and costs so little, but can make a world of difference if the need arises.
