During my diagnosis, a nurse told me that I needed to wear medical ID. Intrigued by the idea of creating a new jewelry product for myself and others, I asked her, “What do most patients tell you when you tell them about medical ID?” She replied, “Most of them don’t like to wear it. They either complain they don’t like what’s out there or they’re just not jewelry people.” So I began a quest to find the perfect type of medical identification for both types of people – those who don’t like wearing any jewelry and those, like me, who love jewelry but don’t want jewelry that brands them with a serious medical problem. As a jeweler, I couldn’t see myself wearing an unattractive piece of medical identification jewelry while I was behind the counter selling something beautiful to a customer.

While I was designing LIFETAG® Medical Identification products, I talked with medics to better understand the recognition of medical identification. Medics have a very short amount of time in which to diagnose your problem. Every second counts. They first check your body for medical ID; if they don’t find any, they begin running through a lengthy series of tests to determine what is wrong. If they knew from the beginning that the problem might be related to a medical condition, such as an allergic reaction to a bee sting, a diabetic in need of insulin, or the use of a blood thinner, they would immediately be able to administer the appropriate medical treatment and save your precious life.

 [Excerpt from Crazy About Jewelry! An Expert Guide to Buying, Selling and Caring for Your Jewelry by Susan Eisen available on http://www.crazyaboutjewelry.net. For answers from a jewelry expert, email Susan Eisen at jewelryexpert@crazyaboutjewelry.net. Susan Eisen is also the founder and designer of LIFETAG® Medical Identification, www.lifetag.com.]

Through trial and error, and research and development, I finally came up with a product called LIFETAG® Medical Identification — “Jewelry that can save your life.” LIFETAG® is a stick-on product that attaches to your existing jewelry. For people who don’t like to wear jewelry, this is the perfect solution because it can be added to something they already wear, like a watch, or to something they regularly carry, like their driver’s license or wallet.

Some people are doubtful about the practicality of wearing medical ID that looks like fashionable jewelry. I’ve had nurses tell me, “If it’s too attractive, the medics won’t notice it!” While there’s always the possibility this could happen, the LIFETAG® Medical Identification line is purposefully designed to avoid this problem. The LIFETAG® Medical ID is red and black with the Caduces symbol in the center and the person’s condition printed in bold letters across the middle. The Caduces symbol, the familiar snake winding around a staff, and the red and black colors are centuries old, traditional medical symbols that any trained professional, and many lay people, will immediately recognize. Our success has proven that medical ID can be beautiful and still perform its vital function.