iOS App of the Day: First Aid American Red Cross

While learning first aid may not be the most exciting thing in the world, in the event that an emergency should happen to a loved one or even a perfect stranger, knowing what to do could save a life. Where most people know the basics of first aid, it can seem almost impossible to know exactly what to do for every possible situation that could arise. With that in mind, it certainly can’t hurt to have an app handy on how to handle the most common of first aid situations, and thankfully we have one to share with you today. The First Aid American Red Cross app for iOS not only provides a crucial resource of first aid related information, but also has helpful videos, interactive quizzes and badges users can achieve to showcase their knowledge.

Pros:

• Simple step-by-step instructions guide you through everyday first aid scenarios.
• Fully integrated with 9-1-1 so you can call EMS from the app at any time.
• Videos and animations make learning first aid fun and easy.
• Safety tips for everything, from severe winter weather to hurricanes, earthquakes and tornadoes help you prepare for emergencies.
• Pre-loaded content means you have instant access to all safety information at anytime, even without reception or an Internet connection.
• Interactive quizzes allow you to earn badges that you can share with your friends and show off your lifesaving knowledge.

Cons:

• App does not replace actual first aid training

How it works:

• Download the app
• Dashboard provides 5 main features: learn, prepare, emergency, test, and more
• The learn feature allows you to learn first aid for allergies/anaphylaxis, asthma attack, bleeding, broken bone, burns, choking, diabetic emergency, distress, head injury, heart attack, hypothermia, meningitis, poisoning/harmful substances, seizure/epilepsy, shock, strains and sprains, stroke, unconscious breathing, unconscious not breathing,
• The prepare feature allows you to read preparation information for chemical emergencies, drought, earthquake, emergency kit, everyday emergencies, fire, flooding, flu pandemic, heat wave, hurricane, landslide, power outage, tornado, tsunami, volcano, wildfires, and winter weather
• The emergency feature provides step by step instructions for emergency conditions by category
• The test feature provides challenges based on first aid related scenarios that you can unlock for achievements (synced with iOS Game Center)
• Read Red Cross related news articles in the More feature, donate, and find first aid training classes near you

Conclusion:

The First Aid app by the American Red Cross is a free and simple way to have valuable first aid instruction on-the-go. This app is also helpful with disaster preparedness and staying current with first aid related news. I love that all of the content is entirely preloaded, so you don’t need an internet connection to access the information. So, don’t worry if you’re out camping in the middle of nowhere and something goes wrong, you’ll be prepared. Hopefully this isn’t an app you will need to use on a daily or even on a weekly basis, but should you ever find yourself needing first aid information this is the app you should have downloaded onto your iOS device.

First Aid is available for free in the iTunes Store. Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.Requires iOS 4.2 or later. iTunes Link

Please note that this app does not replace actual first aid training. To learn more about American Red Cross first aid or register for a course, visit redcross.org/takeaclass

This is part of our iOS App of the Day series. We take our favorite app for iOS for each day and post it here for you to check out. Feel free to check out all of our App of the Day posts here.