Phone Apps for People With IBD
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6 Phone Apps for People With Ulcerative Colitis

6 Phone Apps for People With Ulcerative Colitis
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Updated on February 12, 2025
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When you have ulcerative colitis (UC), monitoring your symptoms, diet, exercise, medication, and personal well-being is vital. Smartphone tracking apps can help.

“The information these tracking apps provide will give you and your healthcare provider valuable insight into your unique patterns and habits, which will help you self-manage IBD,” writes Sunanda Kane, MD, in her book IBD Self-Management: The AGA Guide to Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

While no app can replace the guidance of a medical professional, the six here can help you manage different aspects of life with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

5 Complications of Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis is an autoimmune disease and a form of IBD. Complications from UC affect more than just the digestive track. Here are some things to watch out for.
5 Complications of Ulcerative Colitis

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1. My IBD Care

My IBD Care is a complex health management app that lets you track symptoms, flares, doctors’ appointments, bowel movements, medications, and more. In a research review of six IBD support apps, My IBD Care was one of only two that tracked IBD-related behaviors.

The app features an IBD-related newsfeed and expert-led courses that can teach you more about sleep, medication, and physical activity. This might feel like extra homework, but research shows that patient education can empower people with IBD to understand their condition, stick to treatment better, and save money by cutting back on medical consultations.

My IBD Care can connect to a wearable health and fitness tracker, such as a Fitbit or Oura ring, for IBD-focused insights.

Plus, healthcare professionals can communicate with you through the app if they’re signed up.

2. Bathroom Scout

One of the most stressful and embarrassing symptoms of UC is diarrhea. Knowing the location of the closest restroom can really help with peace of mind during a flare, and that’s what Bathroom Scout can offer, with a database of about three million public toilets worldwide.

It’s a great complement to another app, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s We Can’t Wait, which shows 50,000 public bathrooms in the United States.

Whatever app you use, note that the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation offers members a physical “I Can’t Wait” card. This card discreetly tells businesses why you’re asking urgently for a bathroom, which might make them more likely to help you.

3. MyPlate

Tracking what and when you eat can help people with UC who are striving to maximize nutrition without overwhelming their digestive systems.

MyPlate is a meal-tracking app from the United States Department of Agriculture that helps you monitor calories and the nutritional content of your food, including protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber, sugar, and sodium.

You can use the app to set health goals within specific food groups. For example, if you find that high-fiber foods like Brussels sprouts or cabbage set off flares, the app can help you track your intake.

This app is integrated with Apple HealthKit, Google Fit, and various wearable devices that monitor physical activity levels.

4. Calm

  • Apple: App Store
  • Android: Google Play
  • Price: $14.99 a month or $69.99 yearly; $99.99 yearly for a family plan

The Calm app provides mindfulness meditations, breathing exercises, and relaxation practices to alleviate stress, and possibly UC symptoms, too.

Stress and UC are closely linked, as stress can worsen symptoms or trigger flares by releasing hormones that interfere with the gut. In turn, these more severe symptoms can lead to increased stress — a vicious cycle.

Studies show that mindfulness-based intervention training can improve anxiety, depression, and quality of life in people with IBD.

The Calm app also features Sleep Stories to help you drift off at night. Poor sleep quality is a common complaint for people living with IBD, affecting more than half by some estimates.

In addition to Calm, people seeking IBD-specific pain relief via meditation, breathing, and yoga practices can try guided meditations online from the University of Chicago’s GI Research Foundation.

5. Monash University FODMAP Diet

FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols) are types of sugars that the gut has a hard time digesting, increasing the risk of gas, bloating, and bowel changes in people with UC.

A low-FODMAP diet may relieve these symptoms somewhat and help you discover your trigger foods. But the diet can be challenging to follow, especially at the beginning.

Enter Monash University’s low-FODMAP diet app, which provides recipes, tutorials, and a food guide detailing what you can and can’t eat, including branded products that are allowed on the diet.

You can create a shopping list on the app and add notes about specific foods. You can also use the app to build a food diary and track food triggers.

It’s best to keep seeing a dietitian when following the low-FODMAP diet, as research studies suggest this can help you be successful — but the Monash University FODMAP diet app can provide extra support.

6. MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam

For people with IBD, loneliness and social isolation can lead to more hospital stays, shorter lifespans, and depression, research finds.

 Social media apps like MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam can help people with UC stay connected and feel supported without judgment or stigma.

The app builds community by allowing participants to post photos, share updates, and encourage each other. The app also lets members give and get virtual hugs and likes. It’s a good way to share the highs and lows of managing the disease — and to know you’re not alone.

“When someone receives a diagnosis for a condition like UC, they often don’t know anyone else with the condition, and their ‘in real life’ and Facebook friends just don’t get what they’re going through,” says Mary Ray, the cofounder and chief operating officer of MyHealthTeams, a company that creates social network apps focused on numerous health conditions. “MyCrohnsAndColitisTeam changes that, instantly breaking down barriers and providing a trusted community.”

Ray noted that members have conversations about everything from the daily burden of the disease to life hacks that help them better manage flares and improve their quality of life at home and work.

The Takeaway

  • Apps can improve your daily life with ulcerative colitis, whether by helping you find a public bathroom fast, follow a low-FODMAP diet, or relieve stress through guided meditation.
  • Some apps act as a portal to a broad range of health-management tools; others offer access to a virtual UC community for emotional support.
  • While they can be invaluable, apps don’t replace medical management for UC, so keep in touch with your healthcare team about symptom changes, flares, or other aspects of your condition.

Resources We Trust

EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Gold SL et al. Identification and Evaluation of Mobile Applications for Self-Management of Diet and Lifestyle for Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology. September 16, 2023.
  2. Al-Ani A et al. Development of inflammatory bowel disease patient education and medical information sheets: serving an unmet need. Internal Medicine Journal. July 25, 2022.
  3. Helpful Apps. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
  4. What Should I Eat? Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.
  5. Stress and IBD: Breaking the Vicious Cycle. Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. August 7, 2024.
  6. Qian X et al. Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Psychological Comorbidities in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Actas Españolas de Psiquiatría. August 5, 2024.
  7. Barnes A et al. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of poor sleep in inflammatory bowel disease. Sleep Advances. August 26, 2022.
  8. FODMAP Diet: What You Need to Know. Johns Hopkins Medicine.
  9. Types of Diets in IBD. Crohn’s & Colitis Canada.
  10. O'Brien L et al. Evolution, adaptation, and new applications of the FODMAP diet. JGH Open: An Open Access Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. May 20, 2024.
  11. Ross EJ et al. The Relationship Between Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Narrative Review. Annals of Behavioral Medicine: A Publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. November 16, 2024.
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Yuying Luo, MD

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Yuying Luo, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine at Mount Sinai West and Morningside in New York City. She aims to deliver evidence-based, patient-centered, and holistic care for her patients.

Her clinical and research focus includes patients with disorders of gut-brain interaction such as irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia; patients with lower gastrointestinal motility (constipation) disorders and defecatory and anorectal disorders (such as dyssynergic defecation); and women’s gastrointestinal health.

She graduated from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in molecular and cellular biology and received her MD from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She completed her residency in internal medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she was also chief resident. She completed her gastroenterology fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital and was also chief fellow.

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