Medic Alert

Originally,a bracelet that a person could wear to warn medical professionals in an emergency about a serious health problem.

In 1953 Linda Collins, the daughter of Dr.

Marion Collins and Chrissie Collins, had a near-fatal reaction to a tetanus antitoxin scratch test.

The realization that their daughter could have died if given the full tetanus injection suggested the need for personal identification.

Her father suggested that she carry a written warning about her allergy.

She did, attaching it to a bracelet.

Her parents later designed a silver identification bracelet, which bore not only a listing of her allergy but also the emblem of the medical profession -- two serpents wrapped around a staff -- and the words 'Medic Alert.' The Collins family founded the Medic Alert Foundation in 1956 to provide emergency access to the medical records of people with potentially life-threatening conditions