The weather’s warming up—Spring is almost here. As people venture outdoors to enjoy the sunshine and warmth, so too will the snakes, spiders and insects which become more active during this season.

Each year in Australia, 345,000 people are bitten or stung—making bites and stings the third most common injury in the country.1 Unfortunately many Australians are not clear about the correct first aid management for a bite or sting.

St John Ambulance Australia wants everyone to be prepared for whatever creepy-crawly they may encounter this coming spring.

St John have released a free ‘Bites and Stings’ update for their number one selling iPhone app ‘First Aid’. The update is available to over 40,000 St John iPhone app customers and includes 23 step-by-step first aid management plans for bites and stings.

St John’s iPhone Project Manager, Shay McAuley, wants everyone to take advantage of the free ‘Bites and Stings’ update this season.

“With first aid, every second counts. In most cases, a few simple steps can spell the difference between life and death” said Shay. “Many people find it difficult to remember the first aid treatments for all the various bite and stings, even with first aid training. We hope this app update will solve that problem.”

The range of St John iPhone apps can be downloaded from the Apple iTunes App Store.

For further information, please visit www.stjohn.org.au/apps.

To learn first aid, visit www.stjohnfirstaid.com.au or call 1300 360 455.

1Australian Bureau of Statistics,  National Health Survey: Summary of results, 4364.0, 2004–5.