Why You Need a Medical Alert

We all age and as a result our health is more easily compromised. The correlation between age and injury, increase in required medications, illness, disease, etc. is unpleasant but unfortunately all too present for some. Although you or a loved one are fortunate enough to not be touched by some of the more common illnesses consider that over 13 million Americans are diagnosed with Diabetes and another 23 million Americans are diagnosed with heart disease. Add that to those who have Alzheimer’s, recent surgery, severe allergies, asthma, epilepsy or who are taking life saving medications such as the blood thinners like Coumadin and you may begin to see just how many older Americans struggle with their health on a daily basis.

Those age 65 or older account for an average of over 110 million emergency room visits in a single year. Roughly one third of all seniors also above the age of 65 will suffer from a fall or accident that occurred in the home. If all this information is not sufficient enough to convince you or a loved one that a senior may not be safe in their own home without a medical alert, perhaps we can better make these statistics have a more personal application to you.

Consider the following factors as they pertain to your personal health. If you cannot find any personally applicable reasons for why you should have a medical alert system in your home, then you may not need one. However, if you are over 65, it is likely that you will have at least one if not several issues in the following categories that are most important to caregivers:

• Medical history – Do you have a history of injuries, illnesses, inability to move well enough to get the phone, trouble taking care of yourself, etc. Or are you at risk for developing such symptoms in the future?

• Medication – Are you taking any kind of medication regularly (even if it is over the counter)? If so, do you notice that you are at times absent minded or forget to take the medications that you need when you need to take them?

• Allergies – Do you have allergies to foods, medications, or environmental factors around your home that you do not have the power or resources to eliminate?

• Surgery – Have you visited the emergency room or had any kind of surgery in the past 12 months? If so, did you have trouble healing or healing as quickly as you should?

• Specific needs – Do you have specific needs when it comes to your diet, physical therapy, exercise, etc.? Have you found that you have a difficult time taking care of yourself the way that has been suggested by doctors and loved ones?

• Family members – Do your family members worry that you are putting yourself at risk by staying at home, especially if you live alone? Are your family members looking into or encouraging you to go live in a retirement center?

If you have answered “yes” to any of the above questions you may need a medical alert in order to keep yourself safe by having easy access to contacting medical personnel at all times. All of the above mentioned scenarios can put seniors at a higher health risk if they choose to stay at home. You may need a medical alert not only to give your friends and family the peace of mind that they want to allow you to remain independent by living in your own home, but a medical alert can give the senior the confidence and re-assurance of knowing that if something were to happen at home, that they would be able to get help quickly.