It is usually a common occurrence to get sick at some point every year. It is that time for it now, or so it would seem with the colder weather finally here. Yes, it is again that time of year to bundle up by the fireplace, have some hot cocoa within reach, and a box full of Kleenex close by as well should you be so unlucky. As we all know, colder weather means slower immune systems. Slower immune systems mean that it is easier for us and our loved ones to get sick. With the madness of holiday shopping and the ever-exhausting Black Friday right around the corner, we can easily become sick just by not getting enough rest or by constantly bumping into people in the line at Best Buy. Well, as luck would have it, there may be a little trick that can now help to make us a bit less likely to have our good holiday spirits ruined by a cold.

With an “app for everything” basically being the truth nowadays, it is no surprise to see one that could alert us to “sick zones”. Introducing the new Sickweather App. This might become a bit of a big help, especially this time of year.

So how does the app actually work? Well by using different social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, the app will cycle through different illness reports that pop up on the social media websites and combine the information with the iOS’s notification and geofencing technologies in order to send you health alerts. These health alerts are sent to your phone via a notification when you are entering a “sick zone” or if you are near and area where an illness has been reported. The illnesses and symptoms are put into four different categories, which include gastrointestinal, childhood, respiratory, and environmental.

The app is even able to differentiate between actual sickness reports and phrases like “I think I have a fever. Feeling sick” and phrases like “I got Beiber Fever” or “I’m so sick of love songs”. The app usually sifts through about 600,000 different reports, phrases, and mentions per month and then, using the geofencing technology noted before, triangulates the positions of the reported sickness cases on your map on your phone or other mobile device.

The Co-Founder and CEO, Graham Dodge, let others know that they dont necessarily have a plan or agenda as to what someone should do once they have entered into a “sick zone”, but that perhaps they will be more inclined to wash their hands or sanitize a bit more often while visiting the area.

Overall the app seems to be a great idea, especially for the holiday season with the constant gift shopping rush that we have all come to know and love. Better to keep you and your kids safer this holiday season by avoiding areas that have been marked as “sick zones” and better for anyone who needs to make sure they need to be at work for that meeting or conference call.

The fact is, is that no one enjoys being sick, and it would seem that now there is an app that can give us a bit of a hand in avoiding that so we can continue doing what we love this time of year. Spending time with loved ones and working to get that Christmas bonus you have been striving for all year. Definitely doesn’t hurt to download and keep yourself a bit more aware of your surroundings this winter.