MedicAlert® Emblems consist of a metal disc mounted on a bracelet, neck chain or wrist strap. The metal disc bears the international medical symbol on the front and details of the Member's known underlying medical conditions engraved on the reverse.

To the right is a selction of MedicAlert Emblems® available, to see the full range, click here.

Breakdown of Members' Underlying Medical Conditions And Allergies

A bar chart outlining the major underlying medical conditions of our 235,000 UK Members (as shown from our 2003 data) is set out below.

The definition 'other' includes Members who may be listed as having:

• Multiple medications
• Rare medical conditions and syndromes
• Immunosuppressed
• Treated with Streptokinase
• Special concerns-living wills/advance medical directives
• Heart disease
• Conditions that contra-indicate specific treatments

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The International Medical Symbol

The MedicAlert® Emblems bear the international symbol of medicine engraved on the front of the metal disc. This symbol of a snake coiled round a rough staff is the traditional sign of Aesculapius who features in the original Hippocratic Oath and was the Greek God of Medicine.

According to Greek mythology Aesculapius was the son of Apollo and the nymph Coronis and was tutored in the healing arts by the centaur Cheiron during his youth. His skill at healing the sick and reviving the dead brought Aesculapius wide acclaim. Eventually Zeus, King of the Gods, began to fear that Aesculapius and his gift might render mankind immortal and so killed him with a thunderbolt!

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