Tattoo Your Medical Alert?

Marijke Durning, RN — Thu, 14 May 2009 00:16:00 +0000

Medical alert bracelets, and more recently necklaces, have been around in many forms for quite a while. We see them for people who are allergic to certain things, have chronic illnesses, or special medical issues, like organ transplants. But many people don’t like to wear them. Would a tattoo be the solution?

According to this USA Today article, Tattoos being used for medical alerts , tattoos alerting people of their medical condition is becoming an option for some people. And it’s more common that we probably realize. There’s a Wikipedia entry for medical tattoos , and there are discussions about them on various blogs and sites, like Diabetes Advocacy and The Diabetic Lifestyle Journal.

What do you think? Is it a good solution or – in your opinion – a drastic one? I have to admit, I’d not thought about it before, but I can see why someone may want to do it.