The recently launched Alert5 app was originally designed by IT specialist, Lee Henderson ten years ago when he heard of a young girl who got in a cab and was then abducted, raped and murdered after her covert 999 call was dismissed by the police as a handbag call. But at that point the technology was not available to transmit an accurate location, so the plan was shelved. Now, ten years later, GPS technology is very much more sophisticated so it is perfectly possible to send accurate location details automatically from the phone.

This is obviously of great value to anyone who might be abducted but also has immense potential within the medical field – and particularly for those at risk of anaphylactic shock.

The app works as follows:

1. It raises an alert to up to five friends, family or work colleagues automatically showing a map of where you are.
An add on, at a small extra cost, can also raise an alert with Securitas so that, should the emergency occur in the early hours of the morning when family/friends might be asleep or have their phones turned off, there will still be a 24/7 alarm service there to respond.

2. It displays information on how to assist the person. In the case of anaphlaxis, for example, to look for an epipen with images of what they look like.

3. It can sound an audible alert together with a flashing light.

4. The app can display any medical information that you require on the screen even when the phone is locked. An alert can also be raised when the phone is locked.

The app can be used on both iPhones and Androids and the alertees can easily be changed so that at work you can alert your colleagues and then, at the weekend,change that to family and friends.

And all of this only costs you £4.99 a year, 10% of which goes to the charity who initiated the download.

For more information, check in to the Alert5 website here.

October 2014

If you found this article interesting, you will find many more articles on anaphylaxis here, and reports of research into anaphylaxis here.
You can also find articles on peanut and tree-nut allergy here, cow's milk allergies here, egg allergy here, histamine intolerance hereand articles on a wide range of other allergic and intolerance reactions to a wide range of other foods here.

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