A group of people that was worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic was elderly. The young had their ways to deal with the disease as well as the isolation that the lockdown brought. But our senior citizens had fewer resources on hand to combat the loneliness that the lockdown resulted in. There is a need to prepare our elderly for a similar situation that can arise anytime.
Therefore, there are several tools and apps available that can help the elderly with their medical needs. This makes them independent and updated. This also helps the family and attendants. When you’re looking for ways to help the elderly in your community or family, don’t forget to provide them with high-speed internet so they can download the following apps without any problem. Kinetic Internet will be like a companion to your elderly, so they can easily download health apps. With uninterrupted and fast internet, it also provides plans that will suit your pocket.
However, get ready to give some tech lessons to your elderly. We have prepared a list of apps that are extremely helpful to seniors.
1. Medisafe
Medisafe is an amazing app that is available for iPhone and Android both. This app helps in keeping track of the medicines and getting reminders for them as well. It is amazing for the elderly who tend to be forgetful about taking medicines on time or getting prescriptions refilled.
Medicare will give regular reminders when it’s time to take medicine and then when the medicine is about to end. You can also place a family member or caregiver as a Medifriend on this app. It will send them a notification if you miss the medicine even after being given a reminder. This app also gives discount coupons on medicines at multiple drugstores.
2. Lumosity: Brain Training
Alzheimer’s disease in the elderly is increasing at a rate that no one wants. The Lumosity app can’t cure the disease but training the brain with smart activities can help. This app is for all ages but is specifically helpful for seniors. Cognitive functioning and overall brain health can be improved with this app.
The exercises in this app can make the memory of elders sharp. One thing to keep in mind is that this app has to be used regularly. Only then, a difference can be seen. Both Android and iPhone users can download it for free. It has both, a free plan and a paid plan of $15 a month.
3. Simple Social
The elderly don’t only need medicine and health-related apps. When the body becomes weak, it can get difficult to go out and socialize. Good thing, we’re living in the era of social media. But social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have cluttered content at times. While the young can browse through it easily, the elderly may find it overwhelming.
Simple Social is an app that can make the social media experience easier and less cluttered. For example, the interface will be easy and less stuffy using Facebook through this app. This helps the elderly who suffer from bad eyesight. Seeing a webpage stuffed with irrelevant content can cause pain in the eye and headaches. This app also saves battery life. Simple Social can be downloaded on iPhone and Android as well.
4. Personal Capital
There are many apps available that let you track your finances. But when it comes to the retirement plan, Personal Capital stands out. For the elderly to keep a check on their retirement plan and funds, the app should be very easy to use. Personal Capital is very user-friendly.
The investments, savings, total income, and expenditures can be tracked through this app. The bars and graphs are very easy to monitor as well. This way elderly can manage their monthly budget, keep an eye on the increase, and decrease in their income as well. Suitable changes in long-term financial planning can also be made accordingly.
5. Medical ID App
The medical ID app is the most useful in health emergencies. Once you make an account on this app, it is always accessible, even if the phone is locked. The account will also have information like the number of elderly’s close relatives, blood type, or any allergies. If a first responder comes on the scene, knowing this information is vital.
A free version is available both on iPhone and Android. The premium version is $5.49 a month. This version includes features like a compass, body-to-mass ratio, and GPS for exact location.
6. WhatsApp
You may think what WhatsApp is doing in the list of apps for elders. But when you think about it, it does belong here. WhatsApp is one of the easy-to-use apps for communication. It is also free for Android and iPhone. It has features that are very user-friendly for the elders and also easy to learn.
If typing is the problem, simply a voice note can be sent. Voice and video call is a good solution, if the elders feel lonely. It is also easy to share videos and photos on this app.
This way, you can keep the seniors updated on your life and seniors can keep you updated on theirs.
Conclusion
It is very important to take care of our seniors and elderly. In the era of technology, seniors can be easily made to feel included. Their issues can be tackled easily and they can also do it themselves. Such helpful apps not only take care of their physical but also mental health.
