Archive for July 19th, 2013

Healthy Apps

July 19th, 2013

I recently saw a rather robust list of apps that apply to your health.  If you don’t know what apps are, you might want to consider reading a different blog, but if, like me, you’re old but still curious, you’ll keep on reading.  So, these apps can be used on I phones, Androids, and tablets.  Some of them are relatively incredible, some aren’t; and some are just fun, but, no matter, they are the future.  App Health.  

The first app is called Brush DJ.  One of the less impressive genes that my grandkids seem to have inherited from me is teeth related.  You see, my teeth were always referred to by my mom as “soft teeth.”   As a kid, growing up without fluoride and having an aunt with a penny candy counter in her store, I just thought soft meant rotten teeth.  Cavities happened a lot to me.  Don’t get me wrong, I brushed ‘em, but, probably not often enough.  Then, after the dentist would fill my teeth with all of that wonderful mercury, he’d give me a lollipop.   

So Brush DJ goes into your telephone or tablet’s music collection, randomly selects a song and plays it for two full minutes while showing you where you should be brushing and at what time.  Cool, huh? 

I have mixed feeling about this one.  It’s called Depression Screening.  This app helps to identify depression issues; it assesses and tracks feelings of possible depression.  I haven’t tried it yet because it seems somewhat depressing.  ( Okay, I know, not PC.)   

Gene screen is described as a fun way to learn how recessive genetic traits and diseases are inherited and how certain diseases are more prevalent in different populations.  It also provides information on some recessive genetic diseases and screening programs.   

Let me be fully transparent here because, once again, I haven’t tried this one.  I don’t think that I  really want to know why my mid-section is now about a foot and a half shorter than my overall height or maybe, just maybe, I don’t care which one of my grandfathers or potentially grandmothers contributed to my excessive bodily hair which is everywhere but on my head.   

The next one is called, I prevent running injuries. It’s supposed to protect you from injuries.  I wasn’t even going to download it because the last time that I ran was to the dinner table. On the other hand, I have had friends who, while running and not paying attention to their surroundings, ran into street signs and had to have stitches.  Oh, and another friend fell into a sewer, but was very lucky and swam to safety.   

So, if you’re a runner or a swimmer you might consider that app.   

Finally, the Nottingham Hip Fracture Score Calculator wins it all.  This nifty little app will predict mortality in patients over 65 with a fractured neck or femur, and the app allows for rapid calculation of the score.  

Even though all of my old relatives are dead, I may just download this one for the fun of it.  So, Aunt Amy fell out of the tub?  Should I bother to cover her with a sheet and call the ambulance, or . . . what the heck?   This sounds like an app that was either created by a cold hearted actuarial, a surgeon who is calculating the maximum surgical time or possibly, an ambulance chasing attorney?   

First of all, why do you need to calculate this situation so quickly?  Is it part of the Death Panels of the Affordable Care Act?  (For you NSA guys with those little bomb filled drones, that was a joke.)  

Finally, this is America!  We are entitled to spend as much as we want on healthcare; no matter how stupid the outcome.

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