Or perhaps you know that Dennis likes paintball and decide to take up the sport in the vain hope that Dennis will cut you some slack. It's 10:43 and you're playing the last game of the night, running at high speed over a broken field with the occasional rock and trench. It's dark, and the other team is raining paint on you. You take one last sprint - and it is your last, because you trip on a rock, fall into a trench, and break your leg.
Either way, dog or paintballs, you are seriously hurt. Neighbors, friends, and even enemies come to your aid. (That's called being a good person, or good sportsman - you should do it next time Dennis strikes somebody down!) The ambulance arrives, and the medics start to treat you. The wound looks dirty, featuring either paint or dog crap, depending on which scenario got you. If you're lucky (there are two kinds of luck), you might get both! The medics prepare to give you a shot of penicillin.
And, through the fog of pain, you try to let them know that you are deathly allergic to penicillin.
You - "Argle!"Medic 1 - "Did he say something?"
Medic 2 - "Nah! Give him the shot!"
You - (as you balloon up from anaphylactic shock) "u u u"
Medic 1 - "Wow! Look at that!"
Medic alert usually takes the form of a bracelet. Some people prefer a necklace. Medic alert items are usually distinctive in color or design, often red (you don't want medical people to think it's regular jewelry and ignore it).
What might go on a medic alert:
WARNING - A medic alert isn't a guarantee. The alert might not be discovered on your person. You might have left it home. The tag may be lost or destroyed in whatever befell you.
Having a medic alert might not help you. But having one, and keeping it on you at all times, might just give you an edge.
Most drugstores carry several forms of medic alert - usually you buy it blank and send in a package to get the medic alert permanently engraved with your vital information.
You might be able to get them cheaper and faster by ordering online. Just fire up your favorite search engine and punch in "medic alert" for lots of vendors.
Perhaps the easiest to find form looks like military "dog tags". Some people wear dog tags as a fashion statement, to support the troops, to protest the military. For more information, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_tags.
I bought some dog tags at ArmyNavy.com. I found their service prompt and price good. They also have a neat web-based "previewer" that shows you what the completed tags will look like. They sell a two-tag set for $5.95 or a single-tag set for $3.95, plus a buck for postage [prices as of 4/2008]. The sets come with chain and rubber "silencer".
If you plan to use dog tags for medic alert, make them stand out. Some companies sell special medic alert tags in the same shape as dog tags, except that they are red-anodized and engraved with a medic-alert logo on the back. If you use standard (cheap) military-style tags, consider a red rubber "silencer", and coloring the tag itself, perhaps with a red permanent marker.