Saving Childrens' Lives: There's an App For That
By: Stetson
Updated: November 18, 2011
By now, you know apps are all the rage for their fun games, but did you know some can also provide life-saving advice? That's right, when it comes to your child's safety, there's an app for that. Actually, there are several.
All around the country, kids are back in the gym, the playground and on the field, playing hard. Sometimes, too hard. But now, coaches and parents have some help deciding just how hurt a child might be, especially when it comes to head trauma. They just need a smart phone or tablet and the concussion app, which runs through symptoms and signs to let you know when it's an emergency, and...
"If I'm already familiar with some of the symptoms, I believe the checklist feature is brilliant," said Schoo Coach, Jay Ingram.
"You can touch the app in order to call 911 and while you're doing so it runs thru a laundry list of questions so you can provide the medical professionals with some information about what's happened upon their arrival," added Leticia Barr with Techsavvymama.com.
The concussion app is just one of several designed to help with child safety. With a son allergic to ant and bug bites, Lori Hardegree makes sure all the adults near her son have the epipen app. The app provides a how-to that could save her son's life.
"We've sent it to the school, to his teachers, scout leaders, coaches for sporting events, grandparents," says Hardegree.
Lori also uses the app from the American Academy of Pediatrics. It is also a favorite for techsavvymamas.com, Leticia Barr.
"That is a wealth of information, just like their website is, but it's a portable format that provides info pertaining to your child's health," says Barr.
School nurse Lola Settle sees this as useful in the home and school.
"I think we could incorporate the use of these apps into the daily routine at the clinic because not all schools have medical personnel. They don't all have a nurse," says Settle.
There's also the ice app to help on the go.
"Ice stands for in case of emergency and ice is really a place where you can enter in a wealth of info about your family's medical history. You can enter in insurance information. You can enter in blood type, allergies, past medical history," says Barr,
Another app that allows you to store information about your child is from the FBI. It helps in an instant in case your child goes missing.
"You can take a picture of your child, upload it, store info about your child, there too," says Barr.
Barr does caution parents to make sure the phone and or the apps you use are password protected, though.
"You need to be cautious about the kinds of information you're sharing on your phone about your family," adds Barr.
And one more warning.
"Certainly it's not something that should be used as a substitution for medical advice, but you know worried parents, it's something that provides a lot of convenience and a little bit of peace of mind," says Barr.
"The only down side I can see is if you're relying too much on the app and not taking seeing the doctor when obviously it's something that's important to take them in for," says Hardegree.
It is critical to keep in mind these apps are not intended to replace professional advice.
All around the country, kids are back in the gym, the playground and on the field, playing hard. Sometimes, too hard. But now, coaches and parents have some help deciding just how hurt a child might be, especially when it comes to head trauma. They just need a smart phone or tablet and the concussion app, which runs through symptoms and signs to let you know when it's an emergency, and...
"If I'm already familiar with some of the symptoms, I believe the checklist feature is brilliant," said Schoo Coach, Jay Ingram.
"You can touch the app in order to call 911 and while you're doing so it runs thru a laundry list of questions so you can provide the medical professionals with some information about what's happened upon their arrival," added Leticia Barr with Techsavvymama.com.
The concussion app is just one of several designed to help with child safety. With a son allergic to ant and bug bites, Lori Hardegree makes sure all the adults near her son have the epipen app. The app provides a how-to that could save her son's life.
"We've sent it to the school, to his teachers, scout leaders, coaches for sporting events, grandparents," says Hardegree.
Lori also uses the app from the American Academy of Pediatrics. It is also a favorite for techsavvymamas.com, Leticia Barr.
"That is a wealth of information, just like their website is, but it's a portable format that provides info pertaining to your child's health," says Barr.
School nurse Lola Settle sees this as useful in the home and school.
"I think we could incorporate the use of these apps into the daily routine at the clinic because not all schools have medical personnel. They don't all have a nurse," says Settle.
There's also the ice app to help on the go.
"Ice stands for in case of emergency and ice is really a place where you can enter in a wealth of info about your family's medical history. You can enter in insurance information. You can enter in blood type, allergies, past medical history," says Barr,
Another app that allows you to store information about your child is from the FBI. It helps in an instant in case your child goes missing.
"You can take a picture of your child, upload it, store info about your child, there too," says Barr.
Barr does caution parents to make sure the phone and or the apps you use are password protected, though.
"You need to be cautious about the kinds of information you're sharing on your phone about your family," adds Barr.
And one more warning.
"Certainly it's not something that should be used as a substitution for medical advice, but you know worried parents, it's something that provides a lot of convenience and a little bit of peace of mind," says Barr.
"The only down side I can see is if you're relying too much on the app and not taking seeing the doctor when obviously it's something that's important to take them in for," says Hardegree.
It is critical to keep in mind these apps are not intended to replace professional advice.
