Medical Alert Tattoos?

[anna29]

Hi Twinkle.
Try using felt tip pens whilst you are 'drawing '
Use coloured ones as well as black ink ones.

Will your tattooist be your friend?

Can he let you have colour blots on piece of paper/tissue?
To look at colour depth and ranges .
I mention this as Ryan my tattooist offered this to me .
Didnt want colour so didnt need to.
Am thinking this would be great for you to work in the
colour of the Larkspur flowers in memory of your precious children.
[I like the vibrant blue ink] think purple may fade ?

Ask all these questions to your tattooist .
Doodle till it sends you daft - I did... :crazy: :
Being very slender wrist 7" had to keep small scaled down .
I even played around with various scripts styles and written ink thickness's .
I sort of 'knew' by instinct when I had got it right for me and my style .
Took me 3.5 weeks I think till got it right .
Even now I see it and think yep I love it n wouldnt change a thing :thumbup:

Have you rummaged through the links Daisy posted here.
[loads of piccys]

There are loads , the guys seem to prefer the whole kit .
Diabetic plus Type and snake/staff .
Some girls have a ribbon added alongside/underneath
the word.

I only needed the alert word 'Diabetic' but made it
dainty and more girly with the 2 hearts above the " i "
instead of just dots.

A tattoo is very personal - and can be adapted to be just so .
This is the beauty of each tattoo to a person .

Yep twinkle - I would love to know what you create and choose
as final transfer.
Being quite creative myself - I get - why people take time to sketch/draw/design.

Anna.

 

[Nickers]

It's never something I have thought about but what a good idea there's some great designs be good to see ur picture plz xx


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[Nickers]

By the way Twinkle I love that tattoo it's soo pretty x


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[Giverny]

If you're struggling to find the perfect style for the words you want on your tattoo, http://www.dafont.com/ is a really good website with thousands and thousands of fonts. You can type in the word you want and print off the preview to show the person doing the tattoo

 

[Nickers]

Anna do you have a picci of urs x


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[princess32]

im hoping to get a medical tattoo do i need it on any particular wrist and do i need to state that im a type 1 or just diabetic

 

[twinkle1980]

im hoping to get a medical tattoo do i need it on any particular wrist and do i need to state that im a type 1 or just diabetic

Where you have it, and what you want it to say is entirely down to personal choice.

I'm going for left wrist as its closest to the heart, and I'm a lefty so its more natural for me to hold my left hand out. (may end up getting matching pair in a couple of years but just the one wrist for now)

As for what it says, I'm going just for "diabetic" as emergency treatment is the same in both main types. If you look at the links daisy posted earlier in the thread you will see so many variations.
Type 1 diabetic / type 2 diabetic / ID diabetic / iddm / diabetes with start date to present / insulin dependant / diabetic please call 999 / ........ You get the idea.

I've seen some which list a number of medical conditions such as heart transplant, insulin dependant diabetic with peanut allergy.

Have fun playing around with ideas. I'm still a way off deciding exactly how mine will look, but once decided I'm going to have a temp tattoo made up so I can see how it looks on my skin.... And only once I am 110% sure will I go under the needle.

 

[twinkle1980]

Anna

Thanks for all your suggestions, my tatooist has already offered colour "samples" and he thinks if I want purple it needs to be vibrant to counteract the fading.

I'll keep doodling and asking for opinions until I'm happy lol.

Giverny that's a great website! I'm happy with my script but its still great to have a look through.

Thanks Nickers, will keep you posted xx

 

[anna29]

Anna do you have a picci of urs x


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

Hello Nickers .
I am waiting for my son in law [computer wizard ] to take piccy of mine
with his camera then download it all etc for me.
It will have to done at a weekend as he works 6days a week.
Hope you will like my 'tat' when we get it sorted .

Anna.

 

[anna29]

im hoping to get a medical tattoo do i need it on any particular wrist and do i need to state that im a type 1 or just diabetic

Hi princess.
Like Twinkles says its all down to your own choice and preference .
What you wish to say or state is your own personal choice and thing.
If just curious , browse through links , doodle/draw own ideas ,
Ask more questions you feel/need to - if unsure of anything ?
Till absolutely certain - as it is for life on your skin .

Which arm? I chose left as a paramedic said this is the usual arm they use to do blood pressure testing with .
Any cannula's needing inserting can go either arm .
So my thinking was left [wrist] arm as BP test is done higher up arm.
Leaving both lower arms free for them to fiddle about with - if ever needed .

Have even seen a bloke with a tattoo saying "see other arm!" whilst tattooed other arm
had Diabetic Type 1 on it plus snake and staff .
No way they could overlook this one ... :lol:

Giverny .
I used this to try various script styles - as you say you can type in the word .
Then see it written on the screen in front of you .
Great tool to use :thumbup:

Anna.

 

[stephanie23]

i have had t1 for 20yrs and have never thought of a tattoo before i have a rose on my shoulder already none medical and i am always taking off my chain during the night wen i chokes me and forget to put it back on in the morning wat a good idea

 

[holliebobstarr]

I am indeed getting one in a months time. Not so much to make people aware (maybe in summer) as it will be a biiig one on my upper thigh. Maybe a little "type 1 diabetic" on my wrist or something...maybe

 

[twinkle1980]

Good luck! Don't forget pics x

 

[tracyanicsmith]

hi i have a tattoo on my wrist, the word diabetic and its great i love it i had it done in italic print so it looks good as well, im thinking of having another on the other wrist but would like the international symbol for diabetes, but not sure if it would be recognised worldwide. i have no regrets having it done.

 

[violet6763]

I have already been harassing my tattooist to fit me in. He has a nine month waiting list. I want diabetic on the inside of my wrist with some little flowers to match the large violets on my foot and back x

 

[whitewitch13]

I don’t wish to preach to you and I am not an old fashioned fuddy duddy, but just in case you are not aware, I thought I should let you know that many tattoos contain heavy metals such as mercury, antimony, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, nickel, and arsenic amongst others. As a nutritional therapist I encounter many people with health issues that can be associated with toxicity, heavy metal toxicity being one of them. Unfortunately, we are surrounded by thousands of toxins everyday that put additional unnecessary stress on our immune systems and compromise our health, and as you know diabetes is an autoimmune condition. Please research thoroughly before you willing subject your body to further toxicity. If you are adamant that you need a tattoo to alert people to your condition, look for a parlour that can guarantee their inks are heavy metal free and that the inks have a proven safety certificate and guaranteed to have no side effects. However, it is the heavy metals that gives tattoos permanency.
I have been type 1 for over 30 years and have never had the need of a tattoo, or an identification label, for this purpose. I make sure that at least one person I am with knows I am a diabetic, I carry a visible card in my purse/handbag along with a small bottle of neat Ribena (2 rations worth) which is easy to drink from should I feel low.
If you feel that you need to wear something to alert people a safer alternative would be a medical altert bracelet/necklace or if these are not to your liking perhaps you could design a range of earrings, rings or brooches? Personally I think education is the best; make sure that all your family, friends, work colleagues, associates, or just casual acquaintances know that you are diabetic and what they can do should you become hypo, there is nothing to hide or be ashamed of, everyone has something they have to cope with. If you do go hypo and they are unable to cope they will be aware of your condition and will be able to inform the emergency services if needs be. Best wishes

 

[Paul Oak]

Can I just say that a lot of you seem to miss the point, yes a tattoo could do the job, BUT it really should not be seen as a decorative thing, as that will defeat the whole point, to work it must be instantly seen and recognisable in a universally recognised format, swirly script little hearts etc will only distract, and possibly in an emergency situation will cause the tattoo to be ignored as just an irrelevant piece of body art

 

[mo1905]

Must agree with Paul on this. I work for the emergency services and I've never had time to admire/read various tattoo designs on various parts of the body. If you WANT the tattoo for decorative purposes that's great but please do not rely on them in an emergency !

 

[de130770]

you can wear a necklace and also have a badge saying that you weare a sos talisman you can also get key rings saying diabetic/on insulin

 

[AMBrennan]

nutritional therapist

The protected term is "dietician". Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist.

Unfortunately, we are surrounded by thousands of toxins everyday that put additional unnecessary stress on our immune systems and compromise our health, and as you know diabetes is an autoimmune condition.

Wait for it..

Must agree with Paul on this. I work for the emergency services and I've never had time to admire/read various tattoo designs on various parts of the body

I've always considered it a backup - e.g. hypo in the gym shower after exercising - and I think it can serve that purpose quite well. I did not get the impression that anyone was suggesting to have a tattoo *instead* of an medical alert bracelet or necklace.

Another application that swayed me a bit would be the sauna where you can't wear jewellery - but again, it's a backup end telling others is preferable.

perhaps you could design a range of earrings, rings or brooches

Ignoring the fact that I'm not a designer, I'm not a goldsmith either. Having designed something (e.g. Citizen titanium Skyhawk with an engraved plaque instead of the watch), how do I get the thing made?

there is nothing to hide or be ashamed

I doubt that anyone planning to have their conditioned tattooed on their body is likely to be ashamed of others knowing about it