A paramedic has urged the public to take advantage of a little-known smartphone feature that could make the difference between life and death.
In a warning posted on TikTok, which has so far been viewed more than 335,000 times, the emergency worker said that using the Medical ID feature on your iPhone could save your life.
This smartphone service — which can be accessed through settings or the Health app — involves entering vital health information like allergies and medications you're taking.
According to the paramedic, this is essential for doctors to know when to provide potentially life-saving treatment at the scene.
They may not be aware of any dangerous drug allergies, or of any medications you are already taking that could interact with the medications they need to give you.
"How many times have you left the house with just your phone? We go to the store, walk the dog, go to the gym — all by ourselves, with our phone," said the NHS worker, who goes by the TikTok name @MummyNeeNaw.
“But it means that when, God forbid, something happens and we come, if you’re in a place where nobody knows who you are, we don’t know who you are either. If something happens to you, we need to know if there’s anything we need to be aware of as we’re helping and treating you. It’s incredibly difficult when we don’t know anything.”
She also urged people to enter emergency contacts into this feature, which paramedics will attempt to contact.
“I’ve been on a few emergency cases over the years, and yesterday I was on a case where a gentleman was in critical condition and we didn’t know anything about him,” she said in her video. “There was no identification, nothing.”
The mother of two said the first thing she usually does is check the patient's phone to see if there is any health information they should be aware of.
She said: “As soon as I can, I will take someone’s phone and access their emergency information immediately. I don’t need your PIN or your face to access this information — and that could be life-changing if we know what’s there.”
Creating a Medical ID takes less than two minutes, she added.
Open the Health app on your phone and click your photo in the upper right corner, then select Medical ID.
@mummyneenaw Just a little request. It's something so many people don't know about or don't think to actually do but it could be incredibly important. It takes a few minutes of your time and could make all the difference to you and your loved ones. It's not my usual upload and I'm hoping people remember that in a world where you can be anything, always be kind. #fyp #nhs #ambulance #999 #viral #workingmom #ambulancedriver #ambulanceservice #emergency ♬ original sound – MummyNeeNaw
Tap Get Started or Edit to enter health data.
On this page, you can enter the medications you are taking, allergies and existing medical conditions, as well as your blood type — which is useful in case a blood transfusion is needed.
What's more important, this information can be accessed by emergency services even if the phone is locked.
"If this video makes someone check their own information, or enter their parents' information on their phone, then it's totally worth it," she added.
On iPhone, emergency contacts — along with emergency services — will be automatically contacted when the SOS feature is activated.
To activate this, you can simultaneously press and hold the side button and one of the volume buttons until the sliders appear and the Emergency SOS countdown ends, then release the buttons.
This feature is available on all iPhone 14 models and newer, and means that phones can connect directly to satellites to alert emergency services to your location.
Conversations with emergency teams can also be shared with your listed emergency contacts so they are kept informed of the situation.
This comes as new research suggests that turning off your phone's internet connection for two weeks could restore brain function for up to 10 years.
In a Canadian study, researchers asked 400 participants to download an app that disabled the internet on their phone but allowed calls and messages.
The results showed that after just two weeks, the participants' ability to focus on a topic increased so much that it became equivalent to the concentration of someone 10 years younger. /Express newspaper/
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