eyedentity_girl

Ink for Kids

Published On February 12, 2012 | By Shannon Kulik | Kid Health, Little Boho

If you have a child or an elderly adult in your home with a medical condition, Eyedentity Labels (temporary medical alert tattoos) may offer you another level of peace of mind. 

Anyone who has spent time reading articles and posts on BohoMamma knows that my husband and I have a two-year old daughter who suffers from allergies, asthma and eczema: the big three. Each, has created some scary moments in our home. Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I am…I think the word I was called was intense, about both she and our son’s safety and well-being.

Everyone in our home, including sitters and the like, were trained in the use of an Epi-pen, CPR and water safety (a good idea for caregivers, whether your child suffers from allergies and other health conditions or not). Everyone who is in our home carries an Epipen in their bag when they spend time with her. And our home is a nut free home (no exceptions).

I chase dirt like police chase bad guys. We have filters in every room. And still…things happen. Most schools in New York City (or the ones with whom I am familiar) are nut free facilities. Some are stricter than others, but for the most part, moms and dads know that there are no foods allowed which contain nuts.

Eyedentity Label “Allergic to Peanuts” Tattoo

So, I do not think about our daughter being exposed because she’s usually with me or with someone who knows her condition. But things happen. Recently, we hosted our son’s 5th birthday party at a large museum. I ordered ice-cream as part of the brownies, cookies, cakes and other sweet treats that probably had every parent rolling their eyes (what can I say, I am intense). And when the facility began passing out the ice-cream bars, I quickly realized that many of the bars had nuts. It never occurred to me to ask if the ice-cream would have nuts, because my experience of New York for the under 5-set is that this is a nut free town. So I panicked. And then I stopped panicking and let the parents decide and kept our daughter away from any of the kids who were eating nuts. The experience was a good reminder for me. I may live in a nut free zone, but the world does not.

So, as luck would have it, someone connected with me on Linkedin and I did what everyone does, I looked at her profile and the work she was doing and then had a “Why Didn’t I think of that?” moment.

Zephora Haddon has a company called Eyedentity Label, which provides temporary tattoos that serve as health alerts for children or the elderly. Eyedentity Label has labels for children with bee allergies; nut allergies; the company offers labels for patients who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease (which includes the patient’s health condition, first name and a contact telephone number).; there are labels for children with autism; and, the company offers custom labels for parents.

Eyedentity Labels to Alert Schools and Caregivers to Children’s Health Conditions

I think this is a brilliant idea. Zephora tells me her product has been featured in Redbook magazine and on The Doctors TV show. Still I had never heard of her product. She also tells me that many people who do not speak English as a first language have found the tattoos helpful, because their health condition can be written in English and will alert American/English speaking responders to conditions that can be fatal. She also says that she has had parents who have used the tattoos when traveling with a large group of children to large events (brilliant, again!).

I can think of so many uses for these Eyedentity Label tattoos, which are approximately 2×2 inches in size and excluding the alert message, are transparent on a person’s skin. There are (18) labels in each package and the cost of the package is approximately $25 – $30.00.

Eyedentity does offer valid safety advice in terms of the use of these labels, by reminding parents that it is better “to place a label bearing your child’s name out of site, so that anyone unknown to your child cannot approach them by name”. In my case, I think I would feel comfortable with exchanging our child’s name with “MOM” and my phone number and then including the relevant health information.

As Zephora said, “Eyedentity Label, as in everything I do, is about empowering kids to be independent and strong.  Not about instilling fear into families at all. But addressing the fears, being proactive in a solution, and then letting our kids ‘have at it’ in this life-thing.” If that is not a BohoMamma speaking, I don’t know who is.

Editor’s Note: BohoMamma does not accept payment to speak on or highlight products. We only mention a product if we happen to like it, it works in our lives or we think it will work in yours. And, I just placed my order (full price) and am breathing a bit easier.