Personal medical alarms can literally save your life after a fall or any other type of accident. A neck- or wrist-worn pendant with a built-in transmitter can provide the sick and elderly in particular with the life line they need to doctors, nurses, EMTs, or neighbors. Pressing the alert summons immediate help in instances when the signaler can't reach the phone or front door on his or her own.

Many personal alarms come with separate speaker systems that are installed throughout the home on walls in each room. That way, it doesn't matter where you are when your call goes out. Once your transmitter's signal is received, the alarm company will automatically call your home. If you're unable to make it to the phone, your emergency responder can still communicate with you via your wall-mounted speakers, which work much the way intercom systems do.

Independence and Self-Reliance

Lots of elderly folks are reluctant to give up their freedom by turning over their car keys or moving into senior homes. For them, personal medical alarms are a godsend, as they help instill a sense of confidence in active seniors who aren't ready to curtail their daily routines simply because they happen to live alone. Medical alerts help provide peace of mind for seniors who remain active in the kitchen, the workshop, the garden, or anywhere else around the home.

Most personal alarms are made with powerful transmitters that can reach distances of up to 250 or 300 feet. As a result, even those who take a bit longer to get where they're going can retrieve their mail from the end of their driveway, walk around back to refill their bird feeders, or dig through their garage for old keepsakes and know full well that help is at the ready. It's this sense of assuredness that can reinvigorate many sick or elderly people who have experienced depression and fear as a result of their limited mobility.