10 Best Allergy Apps

It's easy to smell Spring in the air...unless you've got a stuffy nose and trouble breathing due to allergies. And anyone with a dangerous food allergy can tell you how difficult it can be to eat out safely. Thankfully, apps can arm you with the knowledge you need to aid those suffering from a variety of allergies, with allergen and pollen forecasts, product allergen scanners and allergy-oriented menu aids. Check out 10 of our favorite allergy apps below.

Pollen.com's Allergy Alert (Android, iOS) app provides accurate forecasts for a variety of environmental allergies, which can be invaluable in planning your outdoor excursions. The iOS app provides users with one-day or four-day forecasts set to your location, as well as additional health indices for asthma, UV radiation, as well as cold and cough risk. The newer Android app provides 5-day allergen forecasts for multiple locations, allergen info and a symptom tracker for logging your condition.

The great outdoors doesn't have to be a terrible place for allergy sufferers, if you have all the facts. The WebMD Allergy app (Android, iOS) provides a variety of features, from allergy forecasting, symptom logging, to a knowledge base of allergy information. Users can search for up to date allergen information for their current location as well as others saved in your device. Personalized profiles for users and companions or family members help zero in on information. A symptom tracker lets you log how you feel and record symptoms and treatments, while a knowledge base allows you to look up WebMD articles, slideshows and videos packed with information about common allergies and treatment.

Zyrtec's AllergyCast (Android, iOS) is another popular allergy forecasting app that provides a variety of tools for planning ahead for those living with allergies. The app provides pollen and weather forecasts, notifications for high pollen levels, as well as indicators for which types of pollen are prevalent at the moment, as well as tips on how to deal with them. Users can set favorite locations for quick reference, and the app comes with a symptom tracker so that users can log their symptoms and track how they're feeling throughout the day.

Living with allergies can mean having to take numerous medications, whether for immediate relief, or to build tolerance during pollen season. MedHelper (Android, iOS) is a free smartphone app that helps users manage their prescriptions and schedule their meds. Users can enter their prescriptions, complete with details like RX number, dosage and contraindications. You can create an inventory of your meds, create a schedule for when you need to medicate, and log those drugs that you take as needed. The app also comes with numerous extras such as a calendar view and contacts for your pharmacy and doctor.

Found an amazing recipe that has an ingredient that you're allergic to? Substitutions is a neat iOS app that allows users to look up a wide variety of substitutions to common food items, and is a perfect companion to adventurous cooks preparing meals for friends and family who have dietary restrictions, whether for allergies or other reasons.

Sometimes it feels like good food and avoiding food allergies just don't mix. If you're having trouble looking for delicious recipes while staying allergen free, try out Yummly (Android, iOS), a recipe app that takes into account your culinary tastes as well as your dietary restrictions. Users can enter any allergy triggers, and then the app shows you a series of recipes that you can "Yumm" (like), with the app using this information to constantly recommend new recipes for you to try out. You can save your favorite recipes, create instant shopping lists, and even order their shopping lists for delivery through Instacart.

Tourists worried about communicating their food allergies in other languages may want to give AllergyFT or Allergy Food Translator a shot. The app allows users to quickly create a customizable list of food allergies and accompanying warnings for you and your whole family. These profiles can then be quickly translated into French, German or Spanish, which you can then easily show to local waiters so that they can guide you away from foods you should avoid.