What is a colored wristband?
Wristbands are used in hospitals to quickly communicate certain healthcare information. Some of the wristbands are colored and designate certain healthare conditions and status to readily alert everyone who cares for the patient. The different colors have different meanings. In addition, words are included on the wristband to further reduce the chance of confusion about the alert messages. Many people also wear “social cause” wristbands that are colored such as the yellow “Live Strong” bracelets, pink breast cancer awareness bracelets and others that support special causes. If you wear any of these “social cause” wristbands, we ask that you remove them while in the hospital to avoid any possible confusion among these bands and those used for purposes of your health care. What do the wristband colors mean? RED means Allergy Alert – Tell us about all of your allergies. YELLOW means Fall Risk – Yellow is a caution sign to staff alert about patients that may be more likely to fall. PURPLE
