Maybe it is the sudden change of weather; gulping down too much of CNY goodies, the change of life tempo from sedentary holidays back to an enormous work load and pressure; or maybe it was just the traffic jam. Whatever it was, I fell sick. First it was some coughing, followed by diarrhea and then the grand finale of high fever.

I was given 3 days of medical leave to rot at home and bags of medicine to replace my CNY snacks, poor me. One thing I found cumbersome was taking my medication as instructed. There was some to be taken after meals; some half an hour before and also an antiseptic solution to gargle with. That got me thinking that it would be great if there was an application to remind me of all these medication intervals.

eRem
After a quick search on the Net, I found something very interesting indeed. eRem - Medication Reminder by Geo-ICT Health, a mobile software solution that provides an alternative solution to existing alarm capabilities in Nokia Series 60 2nd edition and 3rd edition phones.

This application is specifically designed to be used as a self management solution when medication needs to be taken on regular intervals. Some medication prescriptions commonly require patients to adhere to very complex medication regimens. Adhering to these regimens is of the utmost importance if not to develop resistance against the prescribed drug. eRem can help diabetes and heart diseases patients for example by reminding them of their medication regimen. The same can be said for elderly people who need to take supplements regularly on time.

 

 

User are not required to set alarms every time. A single alarm for a complete regimen is used, allowing the patient to change this alarm in the case where he or she might want to change the time to be reminded. The alarm removes itself automatically on the date that the programmed regimen terminates.

Multiple (unlimited) alarms can be set, providing sufficient capacity for regimens requiring several types of medication on different times of the day to be taken. Each time the reminder alarm is active there will be a message on the screen of the mobile phone showing the patient the type and quantity of medication to take. Customization can be done to input additional usage information. There is even a check system for the patient to select if he/she did take their medication. A log is stored on the phone memory with all user actions and it can be transferred to a computer to be viewed by the patient, relatives, guardian or doctor.

The information can be used to monitor the individual’s behaviour and adherence so that future prescription or monitoring arrangements can be made taking this into consideration.

Too bad it is not free; it’s priced at USD $9.99. That was a bit too expensive for my one week illness. But sincerely speaking, for those who are on long term medication, eRem is certainly a cool self management tool. They can take ownership of their own health management. The application can be obtained from Handango at http://www.handango.com/.


Mobizex Stopex
While browsing, I also come across some other interesting applications in the field of health and fitness. Mobizex Stopex by Zindell Technologies, Ltd is a cigarette monitoring and control software. It is advertised as being able to help smoker to quit by setting a target date and gradually reduce the number of cigarettes smoked daily till one finally stops.

Since I am not a smoker, I did not try this software out but based on the application write up, I think that it should be able to work hand in hand with other tobacco cessation treatments. During initialization, Stopex prompt for users smoking habits and personal details.

 

 

Based on your physician’s opinion together with personal determination, smoker can then set their target date that they wish to grow independent of tobacco. The program will calculate and ration cigarettes consumption accordingly.
This software is not God though and it is still up to the smoker’s determination whether to follow the ironclad rules; but having Stopex can help your effort that little bit more. I believe the chances of one giving up smoking become better when using external aids like this.

Besides, the software also offers motivation and highlights disadvantages of smoking every now and then.
Hopefully these messages can stop one’s dire needs of taking a puff. Well, I’m no ambassador of the “Tak Nak” campaign but we all know that smoking is bad for one’s health. Stopex is priced at USD $5.95 and can be downloaded from http://my-symbian.com/.

If you already laid down your decision to quit, hopefully with the help of Stopex, you will not succumb to your old habits.