If you have read my biographical information you might have noticed that I am a paramedic. What does that have to do with camping? Well, imagine this, you are out camping and are allergic to bee stings. Your wife is out hiking with the kids while you stay back at camp to relax. Then it happens — that can of “beverage” you are drinking out of has a bee drinking out of it too. After the brief battle, the score is bees 1 and you nothing! Now you need help and badly!
But even if you can talk to the dispatcher to give directions, who is going to talk for you when the paramedics (like me) arrive? What if, instead of an allergic reaction, you have an asthma attack or any other problem that impairs your ability to communicate? What if you flat out get so flustered and worried about an illness that you forget you are allergic to the very medicine they want to give you?
I would love to see everyone carry a simple information sheet that would include your Name, Date of Birth, and Address, Phone number, Medications, Allergies and past medical history. Even a simple, type-written piece of paper would be helpful. You could even do it on your computer! Imagine that, using your computer for something useful instead of a way to just entertain you by reading RV forums! Making one small enough to fit in your wallet or purse would be a great idea too!
But there is often an easier way and EVEN FREE, (my kids say I am a sucker for anything Free!). If you go to your local Hospital, I would almost guarantee they will have either a “Vial of Life” or a “File of Life”. Both of these are Pre-made kits. The “Vial of Life” is a big pill bottle that goes in your Freezer with the enclosed list of information. The “File of Life” is a magnetic folder that goes on your fridge. Each person should have one for home and one for the camper and tow vehicle. Just make sure you have one with you on any long trip, camping or not. Then you will have something to speak for you when you might need it most.
Above is a picture of a “File of Life” provided by Clarion Hospital for free to those who come in and ask. Please don’t write and ask for one if you live in say . . . Texas! However, contact your local hospital for information of what they provide.
The above pictures might give you some ideas as to how to set up your own form. Remember the more information the better, but try to keep it in a organized manner. Now Everyone will know your name and more importantly how to help treat you in an emergency.
Your Obedient Servant,
Gary Smith, Jr.
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Maria Gath
I have to share a product that saved my life! http://www.rescuefacts.com
Andy
Having been a paramedic for over 20 yrs, have always ran into the problem of finding out information about patients. During the time of the emergency everyone is trying to give info, however sometimes its very confusing. Had a Lady stop by the base with an extensive medical history and wanted to know how to let someone know what she had in an emergency and no one around to tell us. After a little discussion we came up with the idea that she should get a medical alert bracelet or necklace, and have it inscribed to direct the medical crew to where her info was, such as her wallet, purse, fanny pack. This would save time and confusion. The frig is a good idea if the pt is at home, putting info in the auto is fine if the pt is in the auto. Too many times this is not the case especially with RV’ers, they are out and about and are not in the rv or car.
Andy Haskins
NCREMT-P, SCT/P
Lunitik
Gary,
Great info 🙂 I myself and a Paramedic / Fire Captain and I agree with what you’ve written. Not only good information but a funny story! I can only imagine the conversation you had with dispatch trying to relay your predicament 🙂
BTW, thanks for all of your other great posts to assist others with the unexpected & unforeseen things that may happen on an RV outing.
Mike
Medical alert jewelery is still the best item to have- more information is great, but unless someone goes looking it will not be found. Supplement the jewelery by engraving an extra line telling potential rescuers where to find the information, something like ** More Info: RV & Home fridge ** can do wonders when you are past out on the beach in just your swimsuit.
One of the great things about camping is that can get away from civilization. The side effect is that you may also be too far away from technology. Cell phone coverage may be sketchy which is going to slow down the information flow from the jewelery company, or the ICE entry. Most ambulances are not going to have laptops onboard for the 1 in 10000 chance that there next patient will have a thumbdrive.
This all leads to a potential for mis-diagnosis until one has been in the ER for awhile.
If your local hospital does not have the vial/file of life, you may want to try your local fire department or ambulance service.
ICE entries are a great idea, and I would like to see more and better implementation. Many responders do not have it in their protocals to look for it, and it can often be hard to find in the phone list. On my phones I prefixed ICE by using whatever special character (such as an asterik or a dash) will bring it up towards the top of my contact list. Here is how my address book starts out:
HOME (prefixed with a space)
* Name – spouse – cell
1CE – Name – Relationship
Ed Cortes
Hello all,
Is interesting that I stumble into this conversation, as Jim Baker mentioned the idea of the USB devices is great. The proliferation of these devises and also the standarization of them allows us to use them anywhere even at ERs, Doctors offices, or EMTs.
My wife was diagnsed with Lupus last year and the need to have available all her medical information with her prompt me to develop a very small application that allows you to enter all your medical information and that once you insert the device into the computer medical alerts are displayed immediatelly.
If you like more information please go to my website http://WWW.DrInfoByUSB.com
Cheers, and stay healthy
Ed
L Curry
Good reminder! I have a severe, life-threatening medical condition, and time is of the essence. In addition to paramedics, consider that a layperson passer-by may be the first person to come upon you. What’s wrong with you? What should they do? My medical alert necklace says very specifically what my situation is and says “please call medics.” This way, paramedics know, when they arrive, what they’re facing.
USB drives sound like a great idea, but honestly, when time is of the essence, fast quick info still sounds like the best bet to me. Who are you? What is your situation? Who is your doctor? What do I, as a layperson, need to do to help you? For those of us with any sort of serious condition, something that is on our bodies 24/7 is really the best bet we have. And there is medical alert “jewelry” that is attractive. I know. I have some!
But you can’t engrave all the info you need on a piece of jewelry. And for everyone else, store copies of emergency cards everywhere people can find them. Your wallet. With your car/RV registration. Next to your medicine. Put your doctor’s business card with it. Put contact info of family members (their business or personal cards) with it. Do you have a pet? Put your vet’s and boarding kennel’s info there too. If there’s an emergency (medical or perhaps a vehicle accident), and I stumble upon you unconscious, I’m a take-action person. I do things; I can delegate others to do things. But I need all the information that you can possibly give me.
Yes, it’s a hassle to create these cards and maintain them whenever someone moves, changes cell phone numbers, email addresses, etc. I know: I carry this info with me every minute of every day that I’m not in my home. Do it anyhow.
I can’t help you out unless you help me!
Pam
In the freezer or fridge because it is easy to find.
Sharon
Here is an idea I came up initially for my 90 year old father, then thought: “We should have one of those as well”.
Before we head south for the winter, I would always make up “business cards” for us to hand out to people we wanted to keep in contact with during our 3-5 months away from home. My father has been going with us the past 3 years and I decided to do him up a few as well.
After reading some of the suggestions on this site and after he fell this winter and broke his hip, I decided to make him up just one card just like his business card except with EMERGENCY CARD printed at the bottom, and then printing on the back what medications he takes on a regular basis and the ones he is allergic to, what types of aides he uses-dentures, hearing aides, cane, etc. I also put an emergency contact number on the back–our cell phone number as well as my brother back home’s address and phone number. Dad now carries this Emergency Card right with his Medicare Card and Insurance card. That way, should he be injured or involved in an accident where he doesn’t know his name or cannot talk, there will be pertinent information available to the emergency personnel.
I have since made up an emergency card for both my husband and myself. We never know when something can happen that we won’t be able to relay necessary emergency information.
In my father’s case, he doesn’t take lots of medications nor is he allergic to many, so there was plenty of room for two emergency contacts. If you take several meds and are allergice to several, just list those.
Hope this is a suggestion that can help someone.
Sharon
Jim Baker
The suggestions mentioned are all good, however I carry my medical history on a USB flash drive on my belt while traveling.
Every time I go to a new doctor they have forms to fill out on my medical history. Years ago I began entering each doctor visit in my computer along with the reason for seeing the doctor, and medications prescribed. It is easy to print out the form before heading out to the doctor’s office.
While I do not have any life-threatening medical conditions, a paramedic finding me unconscious doesn’t know that. The EMTs will want to know as much as possible about me, so rather than carrying my medical history on paper, which will be out of sight, I have loaded it onto a USB flash drive. Even the smallest of these drives have enough capacity for a complete novel, and many cost less than ten dollars. Medical people tell me that all emergency rooms have PCs the flash drive can be plugged into for instant access to your critical information. Even in the middlel of the night when your own physician can’t be contacted, EMTs will have the basic information needed to begin sorting out your condition.
Most flash drives come with a lanyard, so they can be worn around the neck or carried in a pocket or purse. However, unlike the MedicAlert bracelet, something out of sight may not be found in time to help.
I found a flash drive with a carabiner ring at a Target store ($14) so I wear it on my belt. A woman can attach it to her purse. In both cases the device is visible to EMTs. WalMart and pet stores have machines to engrave small metal tags, like dog tags, but in different shapes. On mine I etched “Baker, Medical Info”.
A retired navy doctor told me: “Treating an unconscious patient without a medical history is like searching for a single gold coin in a totally dark room. Having a medical history puts your hand on the light switch.”
The most important items include:
Information to identify you. I worry about ID theft, but when your doctor is contacted, he or she will need your date of birth to differentiate you from another patient with the same name. I do not inclued my home address.
Blood type.
Names and phone numbers of your doctors and their specialties.
Names and phone numbers of next of kin.
Medical conditions such as allergies, diabetes, heart problems.
Medications prescribed and dosage–include non prescription drugs you take, also.
Give serious thought and do your research so you can figure out what you should include in your medical history to carry with you.
Jim Baker (Former CPR/First Aid instructor)
Kevin Kaminski EMT-P
Thank you, Gary, for saying on-line what I have been preaching to family, friends and others for years.
Having been on numerous emergency calls over the years where little to none is known about the patient, a wallet card and refrigerator card are great to have.
Another pet-peeve of mine is people who have a DNR, but for aesthetic or personal reasons, and sometimes because family members think the stigma of a bracelet is embarrassing, they don’t wear them!!!
Please, take care of yourselves, do as you’re told by your doctor, call 911 when experiencing ANY medical emergency (we like to keep busy) and keep safe.
Kevin (Paramedic)
EMS & Trauma Coordinator
dave
http://www.roadid.com/Common/default.aspx
Mike Villa
I found a simple and efective way to let paramedics know your medical history. It is called Rescue Facts and it fastens to your seat belt. If you are in a car wreck the first thing that rescue personel see when they open your door is this red medical tag. Inside is your medical history. I made up a card that I sealed in plastic that has your picture (incase you want to make one for your wife) Any medical conditions, all your medications, emergency contacts and your doctors name and phone number.
I was always concerned that if something happened to both my wife and I in an accident there would be no way that our familys and doctor would be notified. The Rescue Facts solves this problem.
The web site is http://WWW.RESCUE FACTS.COM
Kevin
Gary,
Very good articles, as a retired Fire Captain/Paramedic for more years than I can remeber, you give good advice. As a ski patroler also, we also advise skiers to carry whistles and ID. You would be suprised the numer of people that do not carry id’s.
See you on the hill.
Kevin
A bad year, so far two full arrests. And so many AMA’s that should have been backboarded, head bed, and c spine precautions. They refuse and walk away. Mostly young snow boarders over 18 yrs.
David Geoffrion
We do both. Cad in wallet plus file of life in motorhome on side of microwave. We also have an ICE (in case of emergency) number programmed into the cell phone so emergency contact can be contacted by emt with one button.
Jared
Pardon my ignorance, but what is the reason for putting the “Vial of Life” in the fridge or freezer?
Andrew Orton
Clarion Hospital, I know where that is, just about 30 minutes from my house!
Don Garman
Great info. My wife started years ago doing a list for her elderly father and has tuned it so we now both use it. We keep a copy in our RV Trip Book in the truck, and a copy in the Rig as we are 99% of the time together. Some states also have a winshield sticker indicating where the info is in the vehicle in question.
The form from the top down has name, address and phone numbers of the individual and who to contact, medications with daily dose, doctors, Health Care number and Medicare number. Highlighted at the top of the form just below the persons address are allergies if any.
We also have the ICE entry in our cell phones.
Don Garman
Pam Evans
We use “Vial of Life” inour area and recommended them to the RV’ers as well – they go in the refrigerator – in a medicane bottle with a sticker on the frig door – also one for the rig door. Also one in the glove box of the car (that one in a baggie) with a sticker on the glove box. Just don’t forget to update them when meds or health conditions change.