They have first aid apps now and since most of my training is for traumatic injury it’s nice to have a handy guide for things like choking, heart attacks etc. I paid .99 cents for Emergency First Aid for my iphone.
I bet the first line is, Dial 9-1-1.
I bet the last line is something like, “This should not be used for the treatment of people.”
Not to be a smart ass, BUT if you have to look aid response on a phone app, you should be the one giving aid. Unless you are the only one and that person is going to die.
I would take a basic first aid course with your local Red Cross or CERT training cadre. I’ve taken both and know enough to know when to help and when not to help.We had a woman go down at qwrk the other night with" an elephant on her chest". EMTs were called and someone with better training than I had was watching over her until they arrived.
If you want to review the app in your idle time then it would be very helpful, just not when someone is having a heartattack.
I’ve had a few civilian first aid courses but no remembers everything for every situation. This app covers 44 events and differentiates between adults and children for some and covers births which most first aid courses don’t. Thanks for your advice.
Of course training outside of an “app” is absolutely required for anyone who wants to be able to take that next step in first response or aid in a bad situation.
Any type of reminder or aid will not be a detriment. Hell, for some courses we get “incident cards” to help us identify specific things. Does not mean we will use them but a quick review does not hurt.
Sounds brilliant. They ought to make apps for disaster preparation and personal defense as well. Something that tells me to go to my local Costco and stock up on supplies and something else that tells me to pull out my gun, respectively. Im sure they’d sell a few hundred thousand copies.
there are a lot of smart ass responses but…
I seem to recall a coach using an iPhone app for directions to provide one of his players with CPR and actually saved his life…
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-20024634-247.html
not so much b/s now is it?
anything that helps… fucking helps… who care where it comes from
I think it may carry merit. Obviously know your limits OP but they put poster’s in most cafaterias now to perform the hiemlich. Is it really all that different? I had a 9 Line Medivac request card. Is that gonna be knocked here too? If something has the potential to save a life I can’t or won’t knock it.
Yes yes thats great and all if it helps.
Id say its highly comparable to a visual aiming laser on a firearm. Use it if you find it helps you. Do not ever rely on it. Ever.
And CPR… Really man… I can understand being overcome with a chest wound and just thinking oh shit oh shit oh shit for a few seconds while you try to decide between pressure or packing or a seal or wait did I bring my backpack with such and such equipment or my IFAK from the truck with different gear and whats hit is it just a lung hows the stomach, the aorta and illiac, spine, oh my god theres so much blood AAAGHH… etc., and in such a situation having something that spelled out the appropriate steps might be helpful… but CPR… Really? Is it that difficult to remember?
considering most everyday people have no idea whatsoever how to change a tire or how to start a fire properly… its not too far fetched to think they really won’t remember the 15 minute CPR lesson they got in 8th grade… under stress…
reminders help… step-by-step’s improve the help.
I don’t need a check-list to pre-flight my plane… but I won’t do one without it… the human mind usually remembers 7 steps in order… after that its usually the very first and very last few that make it through… I think if someones life is in their hands I’d rather them use all the help they can to get it right the first time
Like I stated earlier I knew the medivac nine line request by heart. Had I ever needed to be the one to call it up I feel I would have done great. Never know though. Either way it was there for everyone. Ive seen joes, squadleaders, and plenty of butterbar’s do it flawlessly in training and freeze up to be fixed by a crusty E7.
I was glad it was his job and he did it all the times I’ve been involved in medivac’s however it could have been him hit and pressure to someone else may have been bad.
As the team leader for my small embedded training team in Afghanistan I did all the medevacs, I did so many I had dreams about them, but I always went to the same page in my book when I wrote out the 9 line so I wouldn’t forget anything.
I’m surprised how many people are getting wrapped around the axle about a check list.
CPR has changed a lot since 8th grade. Heck it was 5:1 when I was younger. Now its 30:2, and it assumes there is an AED somewhere.
To be fair, my ealier smart comment was making fun of the CYA on everything medical. When i was on a mission trip to Larado, we had a HgA1c machine (cool as snot btw) so we could do spot checks. The first line of the manual, “this machine is not for the diagnosis or the treatment of Diabetes.” :suicide2:
I’ve got epocrates, Sanfords, UpToDate, and the red book as my peripheral brain, too.
If the information is good - where’s the harm? I don’t think you can ever have too much good information. It is simply a tool that may benefit someone that needs help at some point in time.
I shit you not… this forum is turning into a bunch of whiney bitching, much like about 99% of what else is out there on the Internet.
Here’s the deal, I started the Preparation, Preparedness & Prevention forums with the understanding that it would not turn into a spiraling shit storm of snide one-upmanship and useless remarks - so here are the basics:
Most of what is posted here is “a way”, not “the way” - if you don’t agree and can back up your disagreement with FACTS, feel free to engage; if, however, you simply don’t approve of something because it offends your delicate senses, tough shit.
Some questions, are dumb questions… think about what you say, if it don’t need to be said, save the bandwidth.
If you think that you are going to achieve some Internet celebrity status by being an irritating jack-ass to everyone that posts here… sorry, all of those billets are full already.
If you want to learn, teach, share, provoke thought or inspire ideas, drive on. Otherwise, take a knee, face out, and drink water.
Having taken basic first responder training in 2009 and Sept/Oct 2011, I can tell you I don’t remember everything from that class with everything else we’ve had to learn lately. I haven’t had enough practice at any of it to be totally comfortable either, which is why I’m glad I’m taking another medical class this weekend.
Make one that instructs the user to duck, tuck, and kiss butt goodbye. 
a “heart attack” is not First aid…
CPR,ACLS isnt first aid, it’s an entirely different ball game.
Also what if someone has a boo boo, and you have plenty of time to use your app to make a sling, to create a splint from random objects.
A person will know when or when not to look in the book or app at any given situation.
don’t be so harsh.
For the most part, I agree - peripheral brain is needed at times. It certainly is quicker to check things online than in the book (ie drug interactions).
First aid? What’s it hurt? I agree it should be an adjunct, not primary training, just like I don’t think that having Epocrates on your smart phone makes you a certified pharmacist or physician. It’s 99 cents. So what if it’s never used? Or if it is used, then it’s a buck well spent.
Get some training, get the basics down, and have a back up if you need it. How many people out there have a spare bolt or hammer stuck in their hand grip?
I agree, but was surprised how many people on this forum argue, blow things out of proportion, and make assumptions.