Women's Health & Healing
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Women's Health & HealingJuly 2011

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Dear (Contact First Name),

 

Do you have a smart phone or a tablet like an iPad? Have you thought about using this technology to help you stay healthy? And if you are a health care provider, are you using this technology to take better care of your patients? In this newsletter I am going to share with you some "healthy" applications that I have found useful. You can find all of these apps in the iTunes app store. If you don't use Apple OS don't fret, most of these apps are availble for other operating systems as well. More good news, most of these apps are free!

 

Blessings,

 

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Priscilla Abercrombie, RN, NP, PhD

Women's Health & Healing

 

Healthy Smartphone Applications 
  

 

Here are 10 healthy apps to check out:

When you are stuck in the produce section of the super market or the farmer's market because you aren't sure which produce you are supposed to by organic use the Dirty Dozen by the Environmental Working Group. This is a list of the 12 vegetables and fruits you should always buy organic due to the risk of exposure to pesticides. There is also a list of the Clean 15 vegetables and fruits that are the least likely to be contaminated with pesticides. Save yourself some money and buy these conventional. If you prefer, you can also download a pdf of the lists.

 

When you are eating out or purchasing seafood use  Seafood Watch by the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This app offers a lot of info. It ranks the fish by best choices, good alternatives and those to avoid. Now they have added a green list of seafood that's healthy for you and the ocean. When you are traveling it will take into account your location and tell you which of the local fish are best to eat. Again, if you prefer to remain low tech you can download a pdf of their pocket guides from the website.

 

Want to go for a hike close to home? Check out Transit & Trails by the Bay Area Open Space Council. This app is WAY cool. Put in your location and it will show you all the local parks and open spaces around you. You can then get directions (by car, bike or foot), plan your outing then share your plans with your hiking buddies. Applications like this are being developed outside of the Bay Area as well.

 

 

 

If you are a woman or do women's health you will want to look at Period Tracker Lite by GP Apps. This is a great way for women to keep track of their periods and any monthly symptoms. There is a list of common symptoms to check off but there is also a note function for other information such as medications taken, etc. To top it off, all of the info can be emailed to your provider or anyone else you want to keep in the loop!

 

If you like to keep track of your workouts you can do it with RunKeeper by Fitness Keeper. Using GPS, the program can track how far you went, how long it took, your pace, how many calories you burned and the path you traveled. This info is then synced to the website where you can keep track of your stats. You can even post your results to Facebook if you want to show off. Thanks Matt for sharing this!

 

Thinking you might like to do a 10 K run but haven't been spending much time in the running shoes? Couch to 10K by Felt Tip can help you get ready for $2.99.  The description says it will prepare you (even if you are not a runner) to run 10K over 13 weeks, one hour work outs 3 days a week. It gives you a training plan with a coach and keeps track of your progress. Again, you can post your progress to Facebook if you are so inclined. Thanks Michelle for sharing this!

 

 

 

 

 

Trying to lower your blood pressure or lose weight? WiScale by Appshelves is a great way to keep track of your vital signs. Use this app to keep track of your weight, blood pressure, BMI, heart rate, etc. This Withings app can be used with the wifi body scale and blood pressure monitor so that all of your data is automatically recorded. You can then look at your data over time and see how you are doing.

 

OK, so I am not one for promoting drug companies but compared to the other app I looked at for allergies, this one is pretty cool. Allergycast by Zyrtec is pretty simple; it will tell you the pollen count and what kind of allergens are in your location. As an added bonus it tells you the weather as well.

 

Finally, here are a couple of medical reference apps. My favorite for drugs and medical conditions for years has been Epocrates. Depending upon how much info you want, you can get it for free or spend up to $200/year. I have the drug, disease and lab reference for $159/year but you can get just the drug reference for free. I like the ability to use the drug formularies when I am prescribing for patients with different health plans. They also do a pretty good job with herb dosing.

 

Another medical app is Medscape Mobile by WebMD. Thanks to the resident I was working with the other day, I had a chance to re-discover this app. It is very similar to Epocrates; it has a drug reference, interaction checker, protocols and disease reference. But it is free! I was disappointed when I looked up dosing for an herb but I was also able to find a condition I could not find in Epocrates. Let me know which one you prefer.

 

 

What apps do you use? Find me on Facebook and post your favorite apps to share with others .

 

 

 

About WHH
Women's Health & Healing believes that women want to receive health care that is always healing oriented and engages the body's natural and innate ability to heal itself whenever possible.
  
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I will be presenting at the AHNA Bay Area chapter meeting Saturday October 22nd at ValleyCare Hospital in Pleasanton. There will be a number of great holistic nursing topics discussed and CEs will be offered. More info to come. 

 

New exam table at Osher! Yes indeed, I have a gorgeous new comfy state of the art gyn table. I bet you didn't think they existed. Frankly, I didn't either. You ought to check it out! Make an appointment for your annual at 353-7700.