In case of Emergency - Medical Info, Contacts, etc.

A very slight hijack, if I may.

Very recently a FREE (NOT a business, but a non-profit) program debuted in Philadelphia, but the entire metropolitan area has jumped on board. (It will be expanding to the rest of the country and can actually be used now as long as rescue/EMS is made aware of it. It does NOT cost emergency services a dime, either.

It is called ICEdot (In Case of Emergency). The program allows you to complete as many profiles as you need (one per person) and print out the profiles. ICEdot does NOT keep the information unless you sign up for the premium service ($10/year/person), YOU print out the profile and place it in the glovebox of your car. They tell you how to get the yellow ICEdot sticker, which you place in the rear window on the driver's side. This alerts EMS to check the glovebox.

The information includes medical information, personal information and contact(s), which is immediately available to EMS and the hospital. This can be life saving if someone has medical conditions/allergies and current meds, both prescription and OTC (which can react with prescription meds). You can even include insurance information. It also reduces the time to contact a parent if a teen is driving and has an accident.

I had done something similar, but more detailed, for my own family including NM.She started having problems one day while out with my brother. He called me and I told him to get her to the hospital and to make sure to give them a copy of her "form" (one page, both sides, so nothing could get lost. He did as told and it COMPLETELY changed their treatment. The doctor told my brother that piece of paper saved NM's life.

They tell you how to get the (free) yellow ICEdot sticker for your window. The site is ICEdot.org/site/free.

You can read everything on the site to find out about the "premium" service where ICEdot keeps the info and sends you wearable tags with a unique ID and tells EMS to text that number to 5-10-20 and they get the information. Great for kids with serious conditions and allergies who don't drive or while they are in another person's car or away from their parent.

This program came about because it was shown that it can take up to six hours to reach emergency contacts, especially for teens, when they are out driving and a delay in getting crucial medical information can mean life or death.

You can get your own local EMS on board by sending them to the site. There is a tab for EMS there. They are planning on expanding throughout the country as quickly as feasible.

I apologize for the hijack, but after reading about all the serious allergies, as well as my own, I wanted to share some info.

Whoever