Talking First Aid Kits

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According to TheMedSupplyGuide.com

First Aid, With Lip

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Guided by Voices "If bone ends are visible, do not attempt to push bone in." Pay attention -- that's your first aid kit talking. Introduced March 31 at the Homeland and Global Security Summit, the talking kit comes with audio chips that, at the push of a button, tell you how to splint a broken bone, stop bleeding or perform CPR. The maker, DLH Inc., says the product will be available in September and cost $49.95.

Look Who's Talking The talking kit updates DLH's Intelligent First Aid Kit, on the market nearly eight years. Like the speechless original ($30.95), which is endorsed by the National Safety Council, the new kit includes four color-coded packs, organized by injury type. The voice on the chip reads from the cards. You pick the language when you order. English and Spanish versions are ready for shipping. Allow eight weeks for others.

A Voice Too Many? Not to kit developer Dave Hammond, a former Navy medic and first aid consultant, who asks: "What if we lose lights? What if you can't read?" Hammond wanted a kit that's easy to use by anyone in any situation. J. Brian Hancock, American College of Emergency Physicians president, called the idea "quite exciting. . . . You lose time by 'read the card, do the thing, read the card, do the thing.'

Dial First "A first aid kit is a good thing . . . but call [911] first," said Peter Morris, assistant chief of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad. "It gets the ambulance and medics out the door." Morris said most dispatchers are trained to provide first aid instruction over the phone while you wait for help to arrive.

But, warned Hancock, "Easy access to EMS makes us lax about having a kit and knowing how to use it."

-- Matt McMillen

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