Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an autoimmune condition which causes inflammation throughout the digestive tract. There are two main forms of the condition- Crohn’s disease and the rarer ulcerative colitis. Approximately 3 million people live with IBD in the United States alone. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disease (yet at least). However, many patients can live a fairly normal life through careful monitoring of their sleep, diet, exercise, and stress levels. IBD affects every single patient in a different way, with different foods or actions triggering flare ups and fueling periods of remission.
It can be a lot to keep track of and monitor. Even when your health is your top priority, managing your IBD triggers can become overwhelming, consuming every part of your day.
That is why Oshi Health began development on a new app for IBD patients. Their goal was to help improve the quality of life of those living with this rare and frustrating disease.
About Oshi Health
Oshi Health is a new company, founded in 2018. Their primary aim is to empower IBD patients by allowing them to feel more in control of their own symptoms. Additionally, their app helps to fuel new research for IBD by providing data to medical researchers which can aid in the development of new treatments and the optimization of care.
The App
“Everybody with IBD is different. That’s why we created Oshi: a brand-new app that’s designed to help you — and your unique body — navigate life with IBD.”
This is Oshi’s motto. Realizing that everyone experiences the disease in a unique way, they made their app completely customizable. It allows patients to track their symptoms, learn about the latest IBD research, and ask questions of expert gastroenterologists.
Track
The tracking feature of this app organizes symptoms into the four categories which most often impact IBD. These are- diet, sleep, exercise, and stress. Patients are able to document their actions and monitor the symptoms they experience as a result. By doing so they can uncover triggers and respond accordingly. They are also able to share the information they’ve gathered with their doctor, better informing their physician with how the disease affects them day-to-day.
Each day each of the four categories of symptoms tracked is given a score between 0 to 25. This score contributes to the overall wellness score that the patient is given at the end of the day. Some things, such as a good nights sleep affect the score positively while some things, such as eating a trigger food will cause the score to go down. This score is calculated in real-time meaning that every time you input more data the score is updated.
Ultimately, the more data you input, the more the app can help you understand your illness.
Learn
The Oshi app features articles personalized to the users interests. Over 130 articles are published on the app so far. These include patient success stories, emerging treatments, new discoveries, and even recipes which are IBD friendly.
Ask
The “Ask the Experts” feature on the app provides answers to more than 150 pressing questions IBD patients might have. These questions are answered by gastroenterologists who know and understand IBD. Types of questions range in topic from common symptoms to inquiries about supplements.
Learn More
This app, which only launched in May of 2018, has already helped over 40,000 IBD patients. It is now available in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Denmark. You can read more about Oshi’s global expansion here.
You can also watch a 2 minute video explaining this app and its features here.
Ready to download the app? You can get the app for Android or for Apple iOS. And the best part? It’s free.
Oshi’s ultimate goal with the development of this app is to help patients manage the unique manifestations of their illness, alleviate disconnect between patients and their physicians, and change the way we think about the care of this rare disease.
