How do I get a medical ID bracelet and what should be engraved on it?

You can get a medical ID bracelet or necklace from lots of online retailers and we’d love you to choose us. We set up The ID Band Company after looking for ID products ourselves. We couldn’t find good quality at a reasonable price and often found hidden charges for engraving or delivery so we set out to create a better way!

We offer high quality medical ID bracelets and necklaces to meet a range of different requirements. We provide a fast, efficient and friendly service and we make sure all our products are available at a realistic cost. All of our prices include free engraving and free UK mainland delivery.

What should I have engraved on a medical ID bracelet?

We always recommend consulting your doctor or specialist to decide what to engrave on your medical ID bracelet, but to help you get started we have some general advice on what to engrave. We’ve also worked with the lovely doctors at Concierge Medical and a trustee of CCHS UK to come up with some advice on what to engrave for some specific conditions which you can find here.

As a guide, we recommend having the following engraved on your medical ID bracelet:

• The medical condition(s) that first responders need to be aware of to:
  • Assist them in diagnosing what the problem is;
  • Direct them to effective treatment;
  • Prevent inappropriate treatment that could aggravate or trigger your condition;
  • Prevent the administration of potentially harmful treatment or drugs;
  • Provide context for any communication or behavioural difficulties.

• An ICE phone number (see below for more information on ICE numbers). 
  
• Your name (either your full name or first name, depending on your preference) as this will help to identify you and the use of a patient’s name can be comforting in an emergency.
• Any life-saving medications you carry, for example EpiPen or hydrocortisone.
  
• Any other severe medical conditions (including allergies).
• Any medications you may be on which could impact on your treatment, for example blood thinners.
  
• Blood type if you have a blood condition or disorder.
  
• “See medical card” (if you choose to carry a medical ID card in your phone case or wallet).
  

If you need to provide a lot of information, we recommend you opt for an engraved medical ID bracelet combined with a medical card. All of our medical cards are printed (like a credit card) for durability and can carry much more information than a medical ID bracelet.

The overriding principle is that all information should be relevant to life-saving or emergency treatment.

We also suggest you be as specific as possible and avoid using general terms. For example, “Allergies: nuts, anaphylaxis” rather than just “Allergy”.

What does ICE mean on medical bracelet?

ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. It was the brainchild of British paramedic Bob Rotchie and has been around since early 2000. ICE has gained international recognition and mobile phone providers often recommend that you store ICE details in your contacts. Most smartphones have an emergency medical information feature that can be accessed without a passcode, but in an emergency, responders may not look for a phone, or you may not have it with you or it may have been damaged or destroyed.

You can choose to engrave just the ICE number, “ICE: 0800 999 3669”, or add the contact’s name or relationship, “ICE: 0800 999 3669 Mum”.

A note of caution: the priority for first responders is to stabilise the patient - not to make phone calls. Also, emergency departments are often understandably sensitive to delivering bad news by phone to an unidentified number. We’re not saying the ICE details won't be used - rather that there's a possibility they won't be used, making it all the more important that all critical medical information is shown on a medical ID.