A practical food scanner for people living with Interstitial Cystitis (IC), also known as Painful Bladder Syndrome.
If you have IC, you already know how hard grocery shopping can be. Ingredient lists are long, additives are confusing, and one wrong food can mean days of pain. This app was built to take the guesswork out of shopping. You scan a product, and it tells you whether the ingredients are safe, questionable, or known triggers for IC.
The app works two ways. You can scan the barcode on any packaged product to look it up in a database of millions of items. If a barcode is not available, or the product is not in the database, you can take a photo of the ingredients label directly. The app will read the text and check every ingredient for you.
Each ingredient is sorted into one of three categories. Safe ingredients are generally well tolerated by people on the IC diet. Caution ingredients may bother some people, depending on individual sensitivity. Avoid ingredients are common IC triggers that flare symptoms for many. For every flagged ingredient, the app explains why it is on the list, so you are not just told what to avoid, but why.
This app is intended for anyone managing an IC diet, including people newly diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis, long-time patients tired of trial and error, caregivers shopping for a loved one, and people with related conditions such as bladder pain syndrome, chronic pelvic pain, and overactive bladder.
The ingredient guidance is based on the 2012 ICN Food List, the most widely referenced food list in the IC patient community, along with additional ingredient research compiled from clinical and patient sources.
No account is required to use the app. No personal information is collected. You can scan and go.
This app is an informational tool, not a substitute for medical advice. IC triggers vary from person to person, and what is safe for one patient may not be safe for another. Always consult your healthcare provider before making dietary changes. This app does not diagnose or treat any medical condition.