One thing about sharing your kids with an ex-spouse is also sharing their stuff. When they move from Mom’s house to Dad’s, so must their school agendas, retainer, basketball shoes and favourite stuffed animal. It can be a bit of a headache.
Our family is pretty lucky. The boys’ dad and I live in houses next door to one another, which makes it pretty easy to retrieve a backpack before school or an iPod, well, just because someone wants to play Crossy Road. But when extra things are added in the mix, even important items like prescription drugs, co-parenting provides a degree of difficulty that can make keeping track of things a little messy.
When one of the kids had a case of strep throat recently, it was a challenge to remember to hand off his antibiotics every time he and his brother switched houses. And if I can recall correctly, this medication had a pretty manageable dosing instructions. I don’t know how well we would have fared if it was one of those tricky ones that needs to be taken three times daily on an empty stomach.
That’s why I eagerly downloaded the Care4TodayTM app as soon as I heard about it. It’s a tool designed to help Canadians manage medications and keep to a dosing schedule. It can be used on either your phone or your computer. The app sends you reminders when it’s time to take a dose, as well as encouragement and incentives to help keep you on track.
One feature that I really like is Care4FamilyTM. It lets you connect and communicate with family members who have also downloaded the app so you can keep each other up to date on dosing and share progress. This is going to be a huge help to families like mine when occasional illness makes for a change in routine, but it’s going to be a lifesaver for those caring for children or aging parents who have chronic illness. It’s a huge challenge to keep track of everything when there are multiple medications in the mix.
And like a lot of parents, I find it tricky at times to keep myself high enough on the priority list to give my health the attention it deserves. For example, I’d love to do better at remembering to take my calcium each day so I can help prevent osteoporosis, which my mother suffers from. If I’m actually prescribed a medication, chances are reasonable that I won’t always take it at the appointed time. This app will help me to keep my own well being in mind when things get hectic.
Care4TodayTM was launched by Janssen Inc. and it’s available on the Apple app and Google Play stores. Check it out here.
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