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If you have kids, you know that kids – especially little ones – get sick.
A lot.
I feel as if my two-year-old had a runny nose and various other symptoms for the majority of the second year of his life, and I can’t tell you how many trips I made to the doctor only to hear “just a virus, so it has to run its course.”
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Experience counts for a lot, and with baby number two, we’ve cut down on visits, but there are still certain things that can only be confirmed (or ruled out) by a trip to the pediatrician.
Ear infections, for one. Strep throat, for another.
And don’t even get me started on the hot debate that takes place every time your kid gets sick on a weekend, or after office hours. To Urgent Care or not? That is always the question.
But what if you could assuage your concerns in those areas (and others) on your own?
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While it may not be widely available just yet, the TytoHome doctor kit lets you examine your kids at home – with the help of some great technology – and has the potential to alleviate parental stress (to some degree).
Thanks to the plug-in otoscope, stethoscope, and tongue depressor, the TytoHome allows parents to perform an exam that will diagnose common childhood illnesses and then transmit the results to a doctor through the connected app.
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It connects you with a board-certified physician who performs a live consult after reviewing the images transmitted through the Tyto. They can prescribe antibiotics, if necessary, or make other recommendations if drugs aren’t the best course of action.
Even though there are some kinks to work out, it’s no surprise that the device won Wired’s Best Parenting innovation from the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show. After all, being able to tell whether or not your kid is plain sick or emergent care sick in the middle of the night is a truly priceless gift.
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Sadly, you can’t pick up a TytoHome on Amazon (yet). Currently, you can only nab one through your health care provider or health system, and you’ll have to fill out an online form and get in virtual line.
It is FDA and HIPPA-compliant, can be connected with Flexible Spending Accounts, and the “visits” are most-often covered by insurance under “telehealth” benefits.
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Even if we do have a ways to go before this is the norm in most households, being able to talk to doctors via apps and other devices is sure to be the wave of the future.
And moms and dads everywhere will be able to breath a sigh of relief…until the next issue crops up, anyway.
