Have yourself an appy little Christmas time

The mistletoe and wine are bought. There are logs on the fire and gifts in the tree. Christmas day, in other words, is almost upon us.

But technology is everywhere these days. In many UK households, one of the gifts in the tree will be a tablet of some kind, a smartphone or some form of games console.

And for those mobile devices, there are any number of apps that will tell you how much wine it is safe to imbibe, and what to do if you accidentally swallow one of those mistletoe berries (which, NHS Choices’ annual guide to preventing Christmas injuries notes can cause a slow heart rate and hallucinations).

EHI has been looking for the most useful health apps for the big day, with the help of NHS England’s library of apps; all of which are approved by clinicians to “ensure they are safe and trusted.”

6am: wakey-wakey!

Santa has done his thing, he’s left a sackful of gifts, and it’s almost time to open your presents! Sadly, though, while Santa is a much loved icon, capable of getting around the world in no time at all, he’s probably earning his GP QoF points for monitoring his obesity.

If you don’t want to go the same way, some exercise is essential. But when those logs are blazing and it’s all toasty and warm inside, stepping out into the cold may not be all that appealing.

App makers have recognised the problem and set about making the idea of exercise more fun. The Zombies, Run! app takes this to a whole new level, by applying gaming ideas to an exercise programme.

While on your run, you can listen to audio narrations and follow tasks, which involve outrunning zombies. Through access to your GPS, the app can also record how long you run, how fast and how many calories you burn.

1pm: all the trimmings

The presents have been opened, copious amounts of chocolate have been consumed, and the turkey is almost ready to be carved. But beware, this is the kind of thing that made Santa obese in the first place, and that is doing little for waistlines across the country.

The average person in the UK consumes up to 7,000 calories on Christmas day alone (according to the Daily Mail), so keeping track of what you eat (and drink) is a good idea.

Weight loss apps are becoming increasingly popular, and NHS England’s app library sports quite a few. To pick out just one, the nutracheck+ calorie counter app lets you add up your calories as you go along.

To make it easy to find exactly what you are eating, the app includes a food library of more than 100,000 products. If you have a barcode reader on one of your mobile devices, and any of your Christmas dinner comes out of a packet, then you can also scan the barcode to find the product you are after.

In addition, the app gives you access to an online database with forums full of advice and tips… For instance: without putting a damper on your dinner, do you really need that third serving of gravy?

4pm: rocking around the Christmas tree

Christmas is all about the children. However, puddings and sweets can have an unfortunate effect on kids. They don’t exactly turn into zombies, but they can certainly turn into energy-fuelled monsters.

Now, it is fairly easy to keep them occupied for a while, but when the joy of new toys begins to wane, there’s an app for that. The Fun Generator comes up with fun activities and games for children of all ages.

Simply state whether you want them to play outside or inside and how many of you there are, and click “go.” Examples of games the app suggests are: “putting green golf”; “den building”; “bushtucker trial”; and “the toe challenge”.

A good bet, though, looks to be “you’ve got talent”. Here children will pick a character they want to play, make up a storyline, dress up, and then show off to the rest of the family. According to the app, the game lasts around 60 minutes and adult supervision is not needed – but you’ll want to watch the show.

6pm: another wine o’clock

Santa is also well-known for being fond of a sherry or two; and most people like a drink at Christmas. Again, though, units soon mount up, and with clinicians sounding warnings that the NHS is facing an epidemic of liver disease, it can be a good idea to keep an eye on them.

One of the better advertised apps in NHS England’s app library, the Drinks Meter, promises to be a fun and different way to keep track of those white wine spritzers (mulled wines, hot toddies, and snifters). 

The Drinks Meter app calculates your alcohol intake and, strikingly, converts it into cash, calories and food equivalents. It also gives you personalised feedback on your drinking and compares you to your peer group.

8pm: we wish you a Merry Christmas

Christmas is not always fun, and by the end of the big day it can all seem too much. The SAM: Self-help for Anxiety management app is a good way to deal with the situation.

The app helps you to identify the situations that trigger anxiety, how they affect you, and suggests coping mechanisms for dealing with stress. It can be used on a short term basis, such as during the holiday season, or on a long-term basis, to track anxiety over a period of time.

Then again, Christmas can lead to accidents, and not everybody wants to end up with the nurses wearing Santa hats in A&E (and your local clinical commissioning group will certainly not want you to be there, since that will cost it money…).

So what do you do if granddad hurt his back carrying the grandchildren? Or simply forget his prescription in Leeds and desperately needs a new one in London? Depending on where in the country you are based, there are several apps for tracking symptoms and finding your nearest service provider.

For instance, Health Help Now, created by NHS Kent and Medway but too new to have been approved by the app library yet, is designed to help people check their symptoms and find the best place for treatment near them.

On a national basis, there’s also the NHS Symptom Checker app, which works just like the symptom checker on the NHS Direct website.

In theory, it lets you check your symptoms when you feel unwell, and gives you advice on what action to take. However, it does seem very prone to crashing, and hasn’t had great user reviews, so it may be better to find a deeply old fashioned PC and visit the website instead.

10pm: silent night

The kids are asleep, exhausted from that “den building” game they played earlier, and you’ve wound down the evening with a final drink after the drinks meter app made you realise your alcohol intake was perfectly reasonable.

Thanks to the calorie counter you know you still have 150 calories left of your recommended daily allowance, and a few more Quality Street chocolates can also be devoured (ok, three, according to the calorie counter on the Nestle website).

The near-disaster of burnt turkey and panic attack was diverted by doing a few breathing exercises and after consulting the app with granddad’s symptoms, it turns out a trip to A&E wasn’t needed after all; a sit down and a few painkillers and he is as good as new. He might still want to set up an appointment with his GP in the New Year though…

‘Appy Christmas everybody!