Time to issue a fashion alert

After Eileen Smith's Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed four years ago, she went in search of a medical ID bracelet to wear in case she suffered a hypoglycemic episode away from home.

She bought a standard bracelet at a drugstore, but it broke. Upscale medical jewelry made of gold was too expensive. So Smith, of Kansas City, Mo., was excited to discover Lauren's Hope, which sells affordable medical costume jewelry that is, importantly, pretty.

"The people who wear [medical jewelry] are often people who don't have very pretty lives," said Smith, 56.

Her not-so-pretty routines include taking insulin shots four times daily. Her medical alert bracelet, which has red garnet stones and gold beads, helps boost her morale, she said.

To combat the stigma that dissuades some people from wearing lifesaving medical jewelry, several companies sell stylish bracelets, necklaces and watches that look like regular jewelry but for a symbol -- usually the Star of Life or Rod of Asclepius -- alerting health professionals to a medical condition.

Jeweler Rogers and Hollands recently announced that its retail stores (including three in the Twin Cities) will sell medical ID bracelets from Abbe Sennett Design. They use Swarovski crystals and other semiprecious gems to jazz up customized plates describing a penicillin allergy or heart condition (www.medicalidfashions .com).

Some jewelry does more than that. The nonprofit MedicAlert Foundation, for example, has a phone number and code engraved on its jewelry so responders can call to learn more about medications, emergency contacts and other details.

Sacchetti said it's disconcerting how few people with chronic conditions wear medical jewelry -- especially children. The less obvious the condition, the more critical it is.

Here's a look at some of what is available in medical ID jewelry.

The nonprofit MedicAlert Foundation, founded in 1956, is the best known and most comprehensive alert service. In addition to being engraved with your most critical information, every MedicAlert ID bears the phone number to a staffed 24-hour phone line and a personal code that gives access to further information you have on file. Its jewelry includes watches made by Citizen and shoe tags. Membership is $45 a year for adults; for kids, it's $30 the first year and $25 annually thereafter.

Through a partnership with emergency notification company ICEdot, customers who buy jewelry through Medical ID Marketplace have the option to link their jewelry to an SMS texting service. Customers create an emergency profile and wear jewelry engraved with a unique PIN. Emergency responders text the PIN to 5-10-20 and get a text message back with patient information. Membership is $12 for the first year, $10 thereafter.

Among Sticky's large selection of medical jewelry are bracelets, necklaces and key chains containing USB drives that can store medical records. For $20 a year, customers have the option of uploading their medical information to the USB through MedFlash, password-protected software that keeps the information in an online account and gives emergency responders access to a text-only summary. MedFlash also provides a 24-hour phone line for physicians.