Paracetamol, ibuprofen, antihistamines, and other as-needed (PRN) medicines do not follow a calendar — they follow rules: minimum hours between doses, maximum doses in twenty-four hours, and the fog of remembering whether you already gave one at midnight.
Medication Timer’s medication timers answer when is it safe to give the next dose? so you can focus on the person who is unwell, not mental arithmetic.
How a medication timer works
- Choose a family member and medication (from your library or a new entry).
- Log a dose when you administer it.
- The timer shows time remaining until the next dose is allowed — or the clock time when dosing is safe again (display preference in Profile).
- When the timer reaches the safe window, log the next dose from the app, a widget, notification, Apple Watch, or Siri / Google Assistant.
Timer cards also show rolling twenty-four-hour progress — doses taken versus the maximum allowed in any twenty-four-hour window when a maximum is set on the medication.
Safety rules you configure
Set minimum interval between doses and maximum doses per day on each medication to match your pharmacist label or clinician advice. The app blocks early re-dosing and shows clear feedback when it is still too soon — on timers, widgets, and watch actions alike.
During illness: timers in Care
On sick days, start a Care session and run PRN timers scoped to that illness. Next up highlights when a dose is due, overdue, or still counting down. Quick timers (Family Care) save member-and-medication pairs for one-tap starts when you are exhausted.
Outside Care, use the standalone Timers area or Today for everyday PRN use.
Pair with temperature logging
Fever nights usually mean alternating timer checks and thermometer readings. Log temperatures in the same Care session (or Temperatures) to see whether medication correlated with improvement — see Smart fever & symptom tracking.
Availability
Free: Unlimited as-needed timers, spacing and daily limit enforcement, widgets and notifications, Care session timers.
Family Care: Quick timers, shared caregiver visibility, unlimited history, family reports.
Start your first timer
Open Care during illness or Timers for everyday PRN use. Log the dose you just gave and let the countdown handle the rest.
