With the introduction of the iPhone around 2007, the word “app” became synonymous with something that could make our life easier. So it is with apps that help people with medical conditions like diabetes.
Tri-county area podiatrists Dr. Heidi M. Christie and Dr. Chanda L. Day-Houts recognize that some of our patients may struggle with the daily management of diabetes. Phone apps can help.
Here are 5 ways you can use your smartphone to help manage diabetes:
- Overall Diabetes Management: there are apps that track and monitor your blood glucose, calculate your A1C, show trends in your self-care (what you’re doing well and what could use improvement), display graphs that summarize the connection between what you eat and how your blood sugar reacts, and generally keep you on track between visits to the doctor.
- Physical Activity Trackers: set up a plan to train safely for your first 5K or reach some other fitness goal. Provide video workouts that you can follow at home.
- Reminders: no matter how intent you are on taking your medication on time, sometimes life gets busy and it’s easy to forget. There are many apps you can use to set alerts on your phone that remind you to take your meds so you never miss a dose.
- Meal-planners and food trackers: provide recipes based on your personal profile or help you track the number of carbohydrate calories you’re taking in. Some apps, such as the popular MyFitness Pal, offer an extensive database of foods by brand, making it super easy to input nutrition data with one or two clicks.
- Talk to friends, family, and doctors: remember – your smartphone is, after all, a telephone! Don’t underestimate the power of calling a friend, family member, or physician if the stress of managing diabetes gets to you.
We hope you never feel alone when it comes to managing your diabetes. Get the support you need from technology and from people who care about you. Contact us at Montgomery Foot Care Specialists if you have diabetes-related problems with your feet such as numbness or wounds that aren’t healing. You can reach us at our Montgomery, Alabama office at (334) 396-3668 or contact us online for an appointment.