What is this item?
July 27, 2016 11:41 AM   Subscribe

I met someone last night with something under her shirt with lights on it. It sat between the top of the left breast and collarbone. There was a small, steady orange light shining through her shirt and one close to it that flashed green occasionally. What is this?

It's likely I will not see this person again and I'm not nosy about her specifically - i.e., I don't want all up in her medical business - this is just idle curiosity. I've asked my mom and sister, both of whom are nurses, and neither had a good idea of what this might be. I'm not even sure if it was medical, but can't imagine any other options. This person was by all appearances healthy and in her mid-30s.
posted by something something to Grab Bag (23 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
My first thought was that it could have been a holter monitor, or some other piece of diagnostic electronics. I imagine it was not a device intended for longterm use since flashing lights would get annoying.
posted by town of cats at 11:51 AM on July 27, 2016


It could be an insulin pump.
posted by zrail at 11:54 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]


i wore a holter monitor last month and was going to say it sounds nothing like mine, but when i googled for images the variety is surprising. in particular, this search shows some that are taped above the cleavage.
posted by andrewcooke at 11:57 AM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]


Sure it wasn't some kind of wearable? Some people like to wear LED thingies because they can.
posted by scruss at 12:00 PM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]


(Never seen an insulin pump that flashed lights.)
posted by uberchet at 12:04 PM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]


Look at Zio or SEEQ heart monitors; they're worn over the chest, and include blinking lights.
posted by specialagentwebb at 12:05 PM on July 27, 2016


I frequently flash blue in that location, because I tuck my Bluetooth headset under my neckline when I take it out of my ears but don't put it away.
posted by instamatic at 12:09 PM on July 27, 2016 [2 favorites]


Maybe she was carrying her phone in her bra because she didn't have any pockets and didn't feel like carrying a bag.

Or maybe it's a wearable like a heart-rate monitor.

Those are the most likely options...I'm less likely to think it's medical equipment since those are (more often than fitness wearables) made to be visually unobtrusive.
posted by epanalepsis at 12:15 PM on July 27, 2016


specialagentwebb: Are you sure the Zio includes a light?

I've worn a Zio and don't recall any lights on the device. Nor have other Holter monitors I've worn featured any lights on the chest. (Sometimes the monitors come with a computer pack worn on the waist, which might have lights.)
posted by reren at 12:19 PM on July 27, 2016


Response by poster: She was carrying a huge bag and unless it's some kind of weird, ancient, tiny phone, it wasn't that.
posted by something something at 12:55 PM on July 27, 2016


It could have been a streamer/remote control for hearing aids. I wear one, and it has orange and green lights, though I don't remember which ones are lit when. For it to work, it has to be around my neck - the cord is the antenna. I don't use it as a streamer when I'm around people (usually), but the remote control gives me some functions I can't otherwise get (control the narrowness and direction of the mics).

When I say remote control, what I really mean is that the streamer lets me use an app on my smartphone to control my hearing aids.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 2:14 PM on July 27, 2016 [4 favorites]


Specifically, the thing I wear looks like this. It hangs lower than my collarbone, but I could see it being more comfortable and maybe less visible if I stuck it in the top of my bra.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 2:17 PM on July 27, 2016


Yep sounds like a phone. How do you know it's ancient? My HTC One used to flash lights continuously like you describe.
posted by pintapicasso at 2:34 PM on July 27, 2016


For anecdata point, I can fit my Samsung Galaxy Mega (practically a tablet) in my bra, and I haven't got (very) huge boobs.
posted by fiercecupcake at 3:15 PM on July 27, 2016


I think the OP means if she had a phone, it would be in the huge bag, not her bra.
posted by congen at 3:33 PM on July 27, 2016


It's easy to lose a phone in a big bag. Maybe she wanted to be able to access it quickly.
posted by BrashTech at 5:15 PM on July 27, 2016 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: It was definitely not a phone. I'd have been able to see the outline of something that large, given the way her shirt was cut. And I have never seen a cell phone, modern smartphone or not, with lights like these.
posted by something something at 5:48 PM on July 27, 2016


Sometimes I have weird lights under my shirt because someone has given me an LED throwie or clippy and it's fallen into my shirt. Sometimes it's nice to wear them underneath the shirt, because the light can be bright and bothersome if it's blinking. It's not necessarily looking like it's part of the outfit, because I might not have left the house wearing it.

This, and more deliberate LED jewelry are the most frequent -- well, more like only -- causes of LED lights under clothing I see among people I know in that age range.

A medical device is certainly not what I would assume if I saw an LED under clothing, and I think it's kind of strange that most of the commenters here think it's a medical thing. I've seen lots of people wearing LED accessories. It's easy to have them accidentally turn on if you are thinking they were off.
posted by yohko at 7:12 PM on July 27, 2016


There are also people out there doing light up wearables with other light sources that don't have the characteristic LED appearance.

Also, I should mention that people wearing these things don't necessarily have anything else particularly noteworthy about their style of dress, in case you were assuming it's not a decorative item just because the person was wearing office clothes or something.
posted by yohko at 7:16 PM on July 27, 2016


Possibly an insulin pump, but I'm thinking a Contour CGM (continuous glucose monitor) remote. When you said orange and green, I immediately thought of my T1 friend's Contour-brand CGM, where the lights change depend on trending direction.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 10:33 PM on July 27, 2016


Without seeing it, my first guess from the description would be some kind of fitness tracker which I think some women clip to their bra. Did the old clip-on Fitbits have LED lights on them?
posted by A Robot Ninja at 8:39 AM on July 28, 2016


Best answer: My ex-boss had to wear a monitor device to keep track of an arrhythmia issue. It had lights, was small like the size of a Bic lighter. Something like this.
posted by DandyRandy at 1:27 PM on July 28, 2016


Response by poster: DandyRandy is right! I ran into this woman again last night and she mentioned apropros of nothing that she had recently been diagnosed with heart arrhythmia and had to wear a monitor for 30 days.
posted by something something at 12:40 PM on September 28, 2016 [1 favorite]


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