Lovelyish

It seems drastic, until you’ve spent time in a Long Term Care Facility.  So many of the people that work there aren’t privy to any medical information of the residents so if something happens there’s a mad scramble for someone with authority to look for paperwork.  Necklaces and Bracelets get lost regularly.  

Hell, I think it’s a brilliant idea.  If I make it to 90, I’d like a tattooed DNR.

I think it can be good.  I know I’m deathly allergic to sulfa, which is used in most antibiotics.  Any drug related allergies should always be communicated to medical professionals.  But if you are passed out, and they don’t have instant access to your records…?  That’s when a bracelet (or tatoo?) does save your life.

M

I think it’s a pretty good idea! However, if I were a paramedic or something, and went to get an unconscious person on the side of the road with “do not resuscitate” on them, I would still be nervous not to. Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

I just think…when someone’s dying, you don’t search their bodies for tattoos that say DNR or whatever. If someone’s dying by the roadside, you try and save them. I mean, get one all you want, but they’re not exactly legally binding or anything like that, so don’t expect paramedics to actually pay attention to them.

I would get “organ donor”.

It is actually not binding. In order for someone to declare Dnr, you need medical directives, which is a legal document which states what you want done when you are unable to speak for yourself. Who’s to say they didn’t change their minds and haven’t had a chance to get the tattoo removed?

my best friend cannot have morphine, or any other painkiller-type drug (due to his stupidity as a drug user when he was a teen). If he takes anything stronger then 1 regular strength ibuprofen he starts having flashbacks and it can get really dangerous. I remember once he was admitted to the ER and the paramedics started to remove all his jewelery, including cutting off his medic alert bracelet. So he had it tattooed on a week later. I think its a great idea.
him and his wife have their wedding bands tattooed on too.

i think it’s a good idea, esp when you’re not conscious to tell them, and the whole checking for a bracelet may not be the first train of thought when someone’s in a panic to save your life. I think it has the potential of being a bit more aesthetically pleasing though. 

Being a type one diabetic I have thought about this, BUT I also believe there will be a cure one day….. So getting a permanent tattoo then having the condition be cured would be a waste of money lol!

Regular tattoos are, strictly speaking, unnecessary, too, & plenty of people have those. At least these ones tattoos meaning – possibly life-saving meaning.

I don’t think it’ll actually help much. I don’t think people will pay attention to tattoos in an emergency situation. However, if it makes you feel better, go for it!

I think this is a great idea, especially for those with life threatening allergies.

I was about to comment and say “I’m only allergic to penicillin so I don’t think that’s a big deal, and someone had one with penicillin! hahaha though I wouldn’t die I don’t think, I just get hives and have common allergic reactions that can be soothed with benadryl..

I think it’s a good idea depending where they put it. It also depends what happens to the person. If it’s one on the chest like that guy, then I think it would be very visible.

or maybe I’m just wrong. Whenever I think of someone that needs a medical emengegy, I always imagine they just ripping your clothes off >_<
sorry for my spelling..i’m running off 3 hours of sleep

I’m not too keen on the DNR one, but if there was a clever way to tattoo instructions for dealing with my little brother’s seizures I’d want him to get one!! He’s going away to college soon, and I know he is worried about having a seizure while surrounded by strangers. He’s only had 1 in school, the rest he was lucky enough to be surrounded by family or at home. If he could cleverly get “I’m epileptic, if I’m convulsing sit me up, leave my tongue alone and call an ambulance” or something like that it would make him and the rest of his family a lot more comfortable with possibly sending him an 8 hour drive away.

BTW he has an emergency alert necklace but he often forgets it and hates wearing it. If he could have something a little more…bad ass…I think he would like it a lot more lol!

i think it’s a good idea. especially since I’m allergic to penicillin!

  I’ve never heard of this before. . . I’m a big fan of tattoos, especially if they have a meaning behind them. These DEFINITELY fit that description!! I don’t know if I would get a medically-related tattoo myself, but then again I may change my mind. It’s definitely up in the air!

♥L
-SM

I have an allergy to general anesthesia (I seize after coming to & it gets progressively worse each time).
I don’t think I’d want a tattoo, allergies can change. For instance, up until a few years ago I’d never been allergic to anything, now I’m allergic to horseradish & pineapple & possibly peanuts.
I’ve also known people who’ve had allergies go away.

I think I’d like a bracelet though, letting medical staff know of my allergy to anesthesia, in case I ever needed emergency surgery.

If I were deathly allergic to something, I would probably get a tattoo like on my wrist. I’d hook it up though so it wouldnt be plain. I watch LA Ink & this guy got one that said he was type 1 Diabetic & he had it like in a shield drawing, which looked good. I think the tattoos are a great idea since you can lose jewelry & cards.

I think people might be more into it if they were like an invisible tattoo that can be seen by UV light if they dont want it known. I know it CAN be done now but the safety is in question. I know people are thinking of making a microchip with peoples medical records on there. THAT will be awesome & a huge lifesaver someday!!

@sine_nomine1@xanga - You beat me to the punch! haha! I’m glad other people know this.

@Trueinnerbeauty - Tattoo removals have gotten better. Plus you can cover up most tattoos now!

two things….

one:  i know a guy who is type 1 diabetic and has a tattoo on his wrist that looks AWESOME….except its so styleized you really have to look at it to see that its a diabetic warning and if he ever gets into trouble i know no EMT/Medic worth their salt is gonna take the time to check out his seemingly decorative ink.

two: just a warning to anyone thinking about getting a medical tattoo, the medical symbol is ONE snake around the staff with NO wings its called the Rod of Asclepius, the symbol that is TWO snakes around the staff WITH wings is called the Caduceus and it is the symbol for commerce NOT medicine.

Now don’t get me wrong, a tattoo for something permanent (seizures etc) that MIGHT be able to direct medical personnel the right way isn’t a bad idea. Just the fact that there isn’t a regulated method might throw people off. I wouldn’t suggest getting anything for allergies or such as one poster said allergies come and go. 

@Shinbi_Belldandy@xanga - Yay work was actually useful for something other than a paycheck!

@daydreams_nightmares@xanga - I would of course use CPR on them. Gregory House wouldn’t dare care. He breaks all the rules to make sure his patients live. No matter if he cares about them as people though. Sure he has been sued numerous times but most of them lived.

@andreaaaaah - Wow kudos to you. I would love to be an organ donor as well.

♥

My mom wanted DNR tattooed on her chest as she had a DNR (do not resuscitate) written order, she died before we had the chance for the tattoo, but I made SURE to make her wishes clear and that she was not resuscitated in anyway. One of the hardest choices I ever made at the time in my 21 years of life.

I think they are a great idea and they are the right to every person to get such a tattoo be it a DNR, Allergy etc. I’ve been considering getting my blood type tattooed on me, I am a regular blood donor and have a fairly rare blood type.

This is a good idea.

I definitely understand the “No CPR” one. CPR isn’t that effective, and you can break bones doing it… which wouldn’t matter if you were dead, I guess, but in any case…

I think these are an excellent idea. And this is an example of a situation where new laws or regulations might actually make sense- to protect a person’s medical rights. It is pretty rare that I think a new law is a good idea, btw.

Um, no thank you.

@srsly__x@xanga - I think you might have a lawsuit on your hands even if you do. 

I doubt they work.  With so many people with tattoos EMTs don’t have the time to go around reading/examining every single tattoo people have.  

Wow. This sounds like a completely awesome idea. Definitely agree with the idea of guidelines – such as common areas of the body, like the wrist or the chest, to be checked quickly by paramedics.

Bracelets and necklaces cannot be worn all the time, even the sterling silver ones can rust/get water stains…

I have asthma… I can’t get tattoos because of the line of work I’m pursuing, but I can’t think of a more logical useful reason to get tattooed if you so wish. Especially for a medical purpose. Although, if I ever completely recovered from asthma one day, I would probably just spend more money to get the tat removed. If I had more of a permanent condition like being allergic to penicillin or something, I would totally go for it though. Cool story, and respectable because it’s FUNCTIONAL. Instead of just being art.
I think the common ethical idea of only getting the names of your kids tattooed on your body, while idealistic, is kind of limiting and dumb – at least in terms of recommending to everyone that you should ONLY get tattoos of the names of your kids. 

@andreaaaaah - good idea, way better

What if you change your mind?

@andreaaaaah - *high-five* Me too.

It’s good to let people know that you have an allergy. That’s a good idea.

@sine_nomine1@xanga - @misslei11@xanga - Can’t
change your mind if it is certain allergies. The DNR tattoos may be
drastic and not legally binding, but the tattoos that indicate medical
conditions are a brilliant idea. What happens when you’re in a coma with
no contact information and need the nurses to know that you are a type 1
diabetic? And honestly, even if allergies can sometimes go away as you get older, if I had a deathly allergy that sent me into anaphylactic shock, I would rather have a lifelong tattoo that indicated that, then take my chances that the allergy may one day go away.

@WHOAlizz@xanga - OMG! I hate whenever I see people use the wrong symbol for medicine. In so many of my classes, we go over the origins of the medical symbol and how it originated and the one worm wrapping around the stick is to signify how the first “doctors” were people that came to remove the guinea worm from people and animals. Back in the day, the only way to remove the guinea worm from underneath the skin was to get it to latch onto a stick and then slowly twist it around the stick and out of the body. So, I don’t understand how the symbol with 2 serpents wrapping around it has become so widely used as the medical symbol. I’m so glad that you made that statement. lol

i’m allergic to augmentin but i don’t think i’d want that tattooed on me.

In theory, this is a good idea.  However, I agree with @TiredSoVeryTired@xanga - EMTs aren’t going to go around checking tattoos. I doubt they even notice them. 

 I am allergic to morphine, and sulfa. I would get a bracelet or some other piece of jewelry EMTs are trained to notice and pay attention to in an emergency before getting a tattoo.

@Ms_Lola_Mae@xanga - That’s true. I probably wouldn’t get a DNR tattoo in case I changed my mind and didn’t get it removed in time..but, I would get tattoos of my allergies -.- Especially Latex. =\

@misslei11@xanga - OMG! Yeah, a latex allergy is super serious when it comes to the medical community. Perhaps luckily however, so many people now have that allergy that many hospitals don’t even use latex gloves anymore. My mom and I were actually talking about latex allergies last night and how a lot of rape victims actually end up having to not only deal with the trauma of a rape, but the immediate threat of going into anaphylactic shock while the rape is occuring because of an allergic reaction to the condom. 

no.. aren’t there already medical bracelets?  i’d much rather go with that

That’s kind of strange…

Usually from what I’ve observed, tattoos are merely meant for the viewers pleasure, in other words if your tattoo says I’m a serial killer, I don’t think that the person that reads it will actually believe that you are a serial killer…even if you really are one. Mostly, it’s just not taken seriously, even if it is serious…

Seems like a more permanent version of those dog tags that have your blood type and health information. Personally, I’d go for the necklace instead; the tattoos just feel kind of invasive. Also, without a written order, there’s really no guarantee they’ll abide by your wishes. Well, actually even with a written order they might not (refer to House M.D.). 

I would maybe get something small… but then again, if I got it too small, the paramedics, or whomever wouldn’t be able to see it, thus wouldn’t really be able to help me… so it would be pointless for me to get branded will my ailment.

http://gigieatscelebrities.com

If I were on blood thinners forever, I may have considered it.  But I’ve been taken off them, yay.  :]

Well, you could loose a bracelet, badge or whatever. Bit hard to loose a permanent tatt though.Sounds llike a good idea,as long as they realize what it is!!!

Paramedics and EMTs are trained to look for medic-alert bracelets and necklaces.  Also, tats are not legally-binding documents.  The tats would be helpful for diabetics and other chronic conditions and for allergies – but not DNR or no CPR.  Something else helpful?  Carry your current list of medications and allergies in your wallet or purse.  Can’t stress that enough.

@Ms_Lola_Mae@xanga - in world war 1 the army mislabeled their field medics and medic core with the two snakes and from there it was  always associated with medicine 

@WHOAlizz@xanga - Yeah. That’s annoying. Haha.