When buying a medical bracelet for your Addison’s Disease or Adrenal Insufficiency, it is important to consider what sort of engraving would be most helpful in an emergency to prevent (or quickly treat) adrenal crisis. To help you choose the right medical bracelet for you, we have analysed the engraving on hundreds of medical bracelets.

The NIDDK provides a helpful overview of the different types of Adrenal Insufficiency and what they mean.

We support a lot of people with primary (Addison’s Disease), secondary and tertiary Adrenal Insufficiency, and most of them feel protected with a bracelet or wristband that has standard engraving on it, such as:

• Addison’s Disease
• Adrenal Insufficiency
• Steroid Dependent -- Coming Soon!

We offer a range of wristbands with these standard engravings, and they are also available as standard options on our medical bracelets. 

Although Addison’s Disease is a rare condition (compared to the broader realm of Adrenal Insufficiency), we help just as many people in this specific area. Perhaps … because it is rare.

When customers choose a more specific engraving on a custom medical bracelet, the most common choices are:

• Adrenal insufficiency steroid dependent
• Addison’s Disease steroid dependent
• Steroid dependent

Which one you go for also depends on the size of the charm, as the longer wording would need one of our round charms or a dog tag necklace.

It's also important to specify whether you have a different specific condition, such as Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia or Polymyalgia Rheumatica ... that explains your need for steroid medication.

Other interesting trends from analysing our engraving show that:

1. “Steroid Dependent” is the most common engraving. 

From looking at our data, we’ve found out that the term “steroid dependent” is the most common phrase to include in medical bracelet engraving for someone who has Addison’s Disease or Adrenal Insufficiency. 35% of our custom orders include this exact phrase. It shows how important quick action is … that steroids need to be administered regularly, and in an adrenal crisis.

The Addison’s Self-Help Group reiterate this in their guidance for dealing with an adrenal crisis.

2. A phone number is the most common personal detail engraved. 

28 percent of our customers with a custom engraved Addison’s Disease or Adrenal Insufficiency medical bracelet choose to add a phone number in case of emergency. They want to make sure that the right person is called in an emergency, and that their family is notified of what has happened.

This is followed by 18 percent … who choose to engrave a name.

3. “Steroid Dependent” is used rather than “On Steroids”. 

Our customers who chose custom engraving tend to go for an active phrase like “Steroid Dependent” rather than the phrase “On Steroids”. This is likely due to the fact that the former sounds more formal and is more of a necessity, stressing that it is important that you have steroids. In some circumstances, “On steroids” doesn’t sound as urgent, and people might mistake it for something else rather than Addison’s Disease.

4. Steroids are usually referred to generally. 

Where customers refer to needing steroid treatment, it is most common to refer to them generally, using phrases like:

• Steroid Dependent
• On Steroids
• Needs Steroids
• Steroid Treatment

Rather than specify the specific type or number of steroids that are given. Please discuss your situation with your doctor to get the best advice for you … but we often find that people explain medication more generally on a medical bracelet in case the specific drug or dose changes over time.

In conclusion, if you're thinking about what to write on your custom engraved Addison’s Disease medical bracelet, it is worth considering a phone number alongside what type of Adrenal Insufficiency you have. And if you are dependent on steroids, then you should engrave this too.

Sign up to our newsletter now and be the first to be informed about new products, helpful advice, and latest offers. Plus, you'll receive a free downloadable wallet card for all your emergency contact details.