Business & Tech
Smartphone App May Save A Life
S.O.S. by the American Red Cross is a new phone application that provides emergency care instructions.
We use our smartphone to listen to our favorite tunes, stay in touch with loved ones, and pay for our lattes at Starbucks.
Now, we can save a life with it, too.
The S.O.S. by the American Red Cross is a mobile device application that was launched recently to assist the average person in giving care during emergency situations.
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The application provides emergency care instructions with step-by-step video narration and follow-along demonstrations for over 50 emergency aid situations.
“We hope that everybody can have the opportunity to save a life,” said Janet McGuire, regional communications officer for the American Red Cross Tampa Bay Chapter.
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“You can set the phone down, watch the video, and do it at the same time.”
The application is available only for Android mobile devices, but McGuire hopes that everyone will soon have access to the free application.
The application is free because “there is no way to put a price tag on it,” said McGuire.
The American Red Cross, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and the medical web site Sharecare.com are behind the application, which offers instructions on how to give real-time CPR compressions, deal with seizures or treat broken bones, among numerous other situations. The voiceover in the demonstration videos is from Dr. Oz.
According to McGuire, the most prevalent life threatening situations are cardiac arrest, choking and extensive bleeding. In addition, three prevalent conditions that could lead to a life threatening situation are broken bones, seizures, and allergic reactions, such as the reaction derived from a snake bite.
The most common mistakes people make during an emergency situation are panicking and inaction due to not knowing what to do, McGuire said.
“Calling 911 and standing there without doing anything could be life threatening,” said McGuire.
Although the S.O.S. application is an essential tool in case of emergency, it is not a substitute to first-aid training, she said.
In addition to the emergency functions, the application also features 911 dialing that automatically dispatches a map with location information.
To download the free application, go to https://market.android.com.
