Life-saving smartphone applications

Apps that could save your life

Over the past week, some amazing stories have come out of Haiti, of people surviving for days under rubble and in the bleakest conditions, however this story has to be amongst the most remarkable.

American filmmaker Dan Woolley was in Haiti shooting a documentary on the country's level of poverty when the earthquake struck. Suffering injuries after being crushed by falling debris, he could have died from his wounds but was able to treat himself with the help of an iPhone application.

Using the light from his phone's screen, Woolley was able to find refuge in an elevator shaft, where he followed instructions from the app to construct a tourniquet for his leg and to bandage his head wound. Heeding advice from the application about falling asleep whilst in shock, Wolley set his phone's alarm to go off every 20 minutes so as not to drift off.

Sixty-five hours later, he was found by a French rescue team.

This story raises the point that applications can essentially be able to dispel advice for any situation, gifting anyone with the knowledge to overcome whatever obstacle they might face. With that in mind, we look at some iPhone apps that could save yours, or other peoples' lives. After all, it's best to be prepared.

Pocket First Aid

Whether this is the application, Mr. Woolley used in his situation or not, this extensive guide gives you the knowledge to save your or someone else's life with detailed videos on how to provide first aid.

It also allows you to fill in detailed medical information for yourself and is regularly updated by the American Heart Association.

Download the app here.

CPR & Choking

Sure, you think you might know the Heimlich Maneuver and might be able to replicate what you've seen in countless episodes of ER and Baywatch, but it never hurts to be sure, especially when peoples' lives are involved.

This application was built as a public service by the University of Washington and King County EMS, and features a host of video demonstrations that will teach you what to do if someone you know is choking or suffering a cardiac episode.

Download the app here.

iDistress

Also known as the 'app you hope you never have to use', the iDistress enables users to send out a message to the authorities and three loved ones should they be caught in an emergency situation.

According to the apps official description, it "sends an SMS (text message) and email to three contacts simultaneously along with the users coordinates (down to the street number) for added response time" and "dials a pre-selected number avoiding the need to find the contact in the address book. If no number is selected, the country/area's emergency number will be automatically dialed, eliminating the need to know each region's emergency number."

Download the app here.

Close Call

Sometimes the simplest application, is the best.

Close Call is a free app that simply layers you wallpaper with emergency contact information be it contact numbers, blood type and other allergies or medical information.

Download the app here.

Emergency Radio

There are any number of reasons why you might need to have an emergency radio, be it in a power failure, wanting to know what's going on during an emergency or finding out where the nearest aid is.

This application allows users to easily follow the action of over 900 police, fire, EMS and other emergency frequencies. It also monitors air traffic control channels.

Download the app here.

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