Having a loved one who is sick and needs constant care can be difficult, but this is the reality a lot of families are dealing with these days.

Despite the challenging circumstances, it is amazing how so many just embrace the situation and see it as an opportunity to demonstrate how much they love and care for their special someone. Some people even decide to sacrifice their career to take care of an ill family member full time.

If you are in a similar situation – bless your heart and brace yourself because no matter how much you love a person who needs you, the daily care tasks can prove to be overwhelming.

Your phone as a “caregiving buddy”

Fortunately, help is available in order for you to stay on top of your caregiving responsibilities, and it comes in the form of a phone. This device can help you stay organized so you can go about your tasks easily.

Likewise, your phone will serve as your gateway to valuable medical information and additional help especially if you have a mobile data plan that provides unlimited Internet connectivity.

Here are the best ways your phone can help you take care of a sick family member:

1. Create a schedule

There are different apps that you can use to create daily and weekly schedules, and they provide notifications to remind you of what you need to accomplish during certain times of the day. In the case of you being the primary caregiver of a sick loved one, this can mean feeding time, scheduled medication, etc.

So, basically, it’s like having a helper or secretary with you (as long as you have your phone with you all the time) who reminds you of what’s in your daily agency.

Some of the best apps you can download to your phone that will serve this purpose are Google Calendar (which you can share with the patient’s physician), Fantastical 2 (if you are an iOS user), and Timepage.

Even the built-in organizer or planner of your phone can do the job if all you need is a simple scheduler with an alarm to remind you of your daily tasks.

2. Set up vibration and sound alarms

If your “patient” needs to take different medicines throughout the course of the day, you can use your phone’s planner to notify you when specific medicine needs to be administered. Assign vibration and sound alarms so you do not miss any notification.

Along with this, include additional information for the alarm, such as what type of medicine should be given and the prescribed dosage. Doing this will take the confusion out of providing multiple unfamiliar medications to your patient.

3. Use the Doctor on Demand app

You can download this app to help you deal with the minor health issues of a sick loved one. If it is too much of a hassle to set an appointment with the attending physician of your “patient,” Doctor on Demand is a solution to consider.

However, this is only available in the US. So, if you find yourself in the country while taking care of someone who is sick, this is the easiest way to reach a doctor who can help. Doctor on Demand can diagnose an ailment and prescribe medications via Video Visit. It can help with the treatment of everything from cold to flu, allergies, and even mental health issues.

4. Turn to YouTube for instructional videos

If you ever encounter a problem working a certain type of medical equipment or tool for your sick family member, YouTube can come to your rescue. This media sharing platform has instructional videos on pretty much everything.

Manufacturers of medical equipment even upload their tutorials on YouTube to help end-users operate their products correctly. Therefore, every time the manual for a piece of medical kit or equipment confuses you, e.g. an insulin injection kit or asthma monitor, just head to YouTube for a step-by-step tutorial.

5. Take pictures of the doctor’s prescription

Online hotel reservation platforms advise their users to just take a picture of their digital receipts to present at the hotel so they can check in; most pharmacies are now offering the same convenience.

So, instead of keeping a crumpled doctor’s prescription in your wallet all the time, just take clear snapshots of it to present at the pharmacy. This will make buying prescription medicine a breeze and you even get rid of wallet clutter.

Smart caregiving with your phone

There are still so many ways to use your phone as your caregiving buddy.

You can download a music app so your patient can listen to uplifting or relaxing tunes. You can even subscribe to daily funnies that can help you stay optimistic throughout the process of helping your loved one heal.

The bottom line here is, your phone can help you take care of your family responsibilities. So, explore the different ways it can help you manage caregiving tasks with a lot less stress.