CC photo by MJ/TR via Flickr
Whether you have an iPhone or an Android device, there’s a wealth of apps available that can serve as portable health guidebooks that you can reference in emergencies and in your daily health routines.
But how do you know which health apps are right for you?
Akron Children’s Heart Center clinical coordinator, Deborah Sullivan, and licensed practical nurse, Amy Haddad, created a list of apps that they recommend to parents and their children.
Haddad said these apps can help correct unhealthy lifestyles.
“Being more conscience of your daily activities and diet will lead to a healthy family,” she said.
Here’s what they recommend:
Hands-Only CPR
(Free in iTunes and Google Play stores)
In the event of a cardiac arrest, this app gives step-by-step instructions and video demonstrations of CPR.
Haddad said this is an app everyone should download, and it’s so simple, even kids can use it.
“If they can read, they can use it,” she said. “Kids are even learning CPR in middle school health classes now. I’ve heard of multiple cases where kids have saved their siblings or parents by using that technique.”
iBP Blood Pressure
($0.99 in iTunes and Google Play stores)
and
Blood Pressure Companion
(Free in iTunes store; not available in Google Play store)
These apps allow users to track their blood pressure levels, and it uses that information to spot trends.
“This gives them an easy way to track their blood pressure and bring that information with them to and from appointments,” Haddad said.
This app also gives guidelines for when to notify a doctor.
Healthy Diet & Grocery Food Scanner
(Free in iTunes store; not available in Google Play store)
This app scans the bar codes on food items and shows the nutrition information. By using smiley faces and frowny faces to indicate healthy and unhealthy choices, the app is kid-friendly.
Haddad recommends using it at home or at the grocery store.
First Aid by American Red Cross
(Free in iTunes and Google Play stores)
From cuts to burns to snake bites and poisonings, this app gives expert advice in emergency situations.
Sullivan said the best feature of this app is its simplicity. “It’s not medical terminology,” she said. “Anyone can easily understand it.”
Fast Food Calories
(Free in iTunes store; not available in Google Play store)
Counting calories in the drive-through has never been easier. It lists the nutrition information for menus at popular fast food chains.
“This app is an eye opener,” said Sullivan. “It might make teenagers a little more hesitant to pull in the McDonald’s drive through. It gives them healthier alternatives.”
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