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You may have watched a late-night TV commercial where the old woman lay on the floor and shouted: "Help! I fell and can't get up!" This is an advertisement that may cause anyone who is prone to fall or cares for someone who might fall. The human stomach flips.

This disposable button is light and compact and can be hung comfortably on the keychain. It provides the high bandwidth required for accurate location tracking and better national coverage.

I suffer from chronic diseases and disabilities, and have experienced several falls and other emergencies at home. For many years, I have been using Life Alert and several other medical alert devices to keep myself safe. This type of equipment and services are most often sold to senior citizens, but I used Life Alert when I was young. Since I am at home most of the time, this device provided me with a vital service, helping me avoid injury and be placed in a nursing home. The following comments are based on my personal experience with Life Alert and other monitoring services.

Learn more: http://www.lifealert.com/

The Life Alert medical alert system is a small white rectangular box with a company logo and a help button. The independent services provided by Life Alert include a monitor equipped with GPS technology that can be worn to remind you of emergencies outside your home, and an additional help button that can remind you of emergency services in rooms in your home that may be outside the main monitoring range. These buttons are usually placed in rooms where people are more likely to fall, such as bathrooms.

When I used Life Alert, I lived in a 600-square-foot single-story apartment, and it was never difficult to contact the operator. Most of my emergency situations occur in the bathroom about 300 feet from my equipment or in the bedroom about 400 feet from my equipment. I just press the button on the necklace and the loud alarm of the system will sound. The operator will start talking to me in a few seconds. Although in another room, I have never heard the operator's voice, and the operator has never heard my voice. If the operator cannot hear my response, emergency personnel will be dispatched to my home.

After I completed a thorough interview over the phone, the company sent a technician to my home to install and test the equipment. Thanks to the company's pandemic agreement, it can now virtually guide users through product settings. The setup usually only takes a few minutes, and the technician or customer support will guide you on how to use the system correctly.

The base system has a range of approximately 800 feet and usually sends two monitors to the user. With this coverage, users can still successfully seek help from almost anywhere in a medium-sized home.

Although Life Alert does provide monitoring for using GPS outside the home, but at an additional cost, it does not have a system to automatically monitor falls.

Using Life Alert is very simple. In the event of a fall or other emergency, users only need to press the emergency button and the alarm will sound, and they will contact the Life Alert operator within a few seconds.

One problematic aspect of Life Alert may be that emergency responders reach out to people seeking help. If a user falls and cannot get up, they cannot respond to a knock on the door. Other medical alarm services provide password boxes and their alarm systems, so users can leave the keys outside of their homes for emergency rescuers to use. Life Alert does not provide a lockbox. If you choose to purchase your own additional lockbox, Life Alert will include the access information in your file and provide this information to emergency responders when needed.

When I used Life Alert, I never encountered the problem of emergency rescuers entering my home. They will knock on the door, pause, and enter. However, I was living in a rural area at the time and felt safe and often left the door unlocked.

I have used the lock box with other medical alarm systems, and if others have the correct password, they will allow others to enter. Sometimes, the medical alarm operator did not provide the access code to the emergency personnel. Entering my apartment became a long process, and emergency rescuers had to look for spare keys from the building manager or maintenance staff. Fortunately, I got the help I needed in these situations, but if time is more important, this could be a tragic result for me.

Life Alert has a dedicated 911 service, which is not outsourced like some other medical alert services, and Life Alert operators who respond to alerts are all medically trained. During my use of Life Alert, I always receive timely responses from Life Alert operators and emergency responders.

As with most medical alarm systems, users can choose to wear the alarm button on a lanyard or as a bracelet. I always choose a lanyard. As a wheelchair user, I worry that I will often bump the bracelet alarm into my wheelchair, causing it to sound when I don’t need it. The necklace alarm clock is so small and light that I forgot that I was wearing it. If I lean too far forward, the emergency button sometimes activates accidentally, but when this happens, I just need to tell the operator that I made a mistake and I don’t need help.

Whether the user chooses a bracelet or a lanyard, it is easy to forget to wear it. Users are advised not to remove the emergency button so as not to forget it-it is waterproof and can even be worn in the shower. If the user chooses to dismiss the alarm during the shower, Life Alert will provide additional bathroom monitoring. The waterproof alarm can be placed in the bathtub or on the wall in the bathroom.

The cost of Life Alert monitoring is higher than most monitoring systems. When registering for Life Alert, please inquire about potential promotional offers. The basic monitoring service consists of a host and a pendant. The monthly fee is US$49.95, and the one-time installation fee is US$198. GPS monitoring outside the home or additional bathroom monitoring costs an additional $20 per month. If you need basic monitoring, GPS monitoring, and bathroom monitoring, the bundle costs $89.95 per month.

Please note that the company only offers a three-year service contract, which locks your payments for 36 months.

In most states, Medicaid pays the monthly cost of the basic monitoring system for people who are eligible for Medicaid and are at risk of being placed in a nursing home. However, Life Alert does not participate in this insurance plan. It is also not covered by Medicare.

Life Alert is not a solution for everyone. For example, for people with significant memory loss or cognitive decline, this may not be the best option-they may not remember how to use the device, or they may repeatedly ask for help when there is no emergency.

Having said that, Life Alert is a great solution to meet my needs. It is easy to use and provides me with safety at home. When I need help, I always get a quick and professional response.

Product weight: 3 ounces. Product size: 7 x 7 x 1.5 inches Material: White waterproof plastic Features: Two-way voice system Connectivity: 4G AT&T National cellular network coverage Battery life: The monitoring device remains plugged in, and the personal alarm does not need to be charged

On Bay Alarm Medical website

Services start at $24.99 per month

On the medical guard's website

The information provided by Forbes Health is for educational purposes only. Your health is unique, and the products and services we review may not be suitable for your situation. We do not provide personal medical advice, diagnosis or treatment plans. For personal advice, please consult a medical professional.

Forbes Health adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. As far as we know, all content is accurate on the date of publication, but the offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are only the author's own, and have not been provided, approved or otherwise recognized by our advertisers.

Elaine Shelly is a writer and filmmaker. Her free time is spent on books, music and yarn.

Alena is a professional writer, editor, and manager who has dedicated her life to helping others lead a better life. She is also a registered yoga teacher (RYT-200) and a functional medicine certified health coach. She brings more than ten years of media experience to Forbes Health, focusing on building content strategies, ensuring top content quality, and enabling readers to make the best health and wellness decisions for themselves.