National awareness.com is helping to raise awareness of Parkinson’s Awareness Week. Parkinson’s is a the disease that affects people slowly and gets worse progressively. And it’s all down to a lack of dopamine. So what is dopamine?
It’s basically a chemical we need for our central nervous system to function properly. Without it suffers take longer to do things because cells in the brain have died. Other parkinson’s symptoms include depression, tiredness, pain and constipation – all of which can greatly affect day to day lives. So what is being done to help people and raise awareness to the issue?
Parkinson’s UK is the Parkinson’s support and research charity. For more than 40 years we’ve been working to find a cure and improve life for everyone affected by Parkinson’s.
One person in every 500 has Parkinson’s. That’s about 127,000 people in the UK.
Symptoms and how quickly they progress are different for everyone.
There’s currently no cure, but drugs and treatments are available to manage many of the symptoms
Parkinson’s doesn’t directly cause people to die, but symptoms do get worse over time. Most people who get Parkinson’s are aged 50 or over but younger people can get it too.
The main symptoms of Parkinson’s are tremor, rigidity and slowness of movement.
As well as affecting movement, people with Parkinson’s can find that other issues, such as tiredness, pain, depression and constipation, can have an impact on their day-to-day lives.
The symptoms someone has and how quickly the condition develops will differ from one person to the next.
The symptoms can be controlled using a combination of drugs, therapies and occasionally surgery.
As Parkinson’s progresses, an increased amount of care and support may be required, although many people maintain a good quality of life with limited care or treatment.
We fund research into finding better treatments and ways to improve the quality of life for people with Parkinson’s. As the UK’s Parkinson’s support and research charity we’re leading the work to find a cure.
Parkinson’s diagnosis
It’s not easy to diagnose Parkinson’s. There are no laboratory tests so it’s important that the diagnosis is made by a specialist.
The specialist will examine the person for any physical signs of Parkinson’s and take a detailed history of the symptoms they’re experiencing.
Parkinson’s is a complex condition that affects different people in different ways. The symptoms most often associated with Parkinson’s affect movement. These are often called motor symptoms.
However, there are other symptoms that aren’t related to movement, such as pain and depression. These are known as non-motor symptoms. It’s important to remember that everyone’s experience of Parkinson’s is different. Not everyone will experience all of these symptoms. The order in which symptoms appear and the way symptoms progress also varies from person to person.
Main symptoms of Parkinson’s
- Tremor (shaking)
- Slowness of movement
- Rigidity (stiffness)
People with Parkinson’s can have problems with different kinds of communication, including speech, facial expressions and writing.
Speech problems may start when people first develop the condition. This can make actions such as talking to friends or using the phone difficult.
It’s important to see a speech and language therapist as soon as you can after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
How does this affect people?
Not everybody with Parkinson’s will have the same symptoms. However, the condition can cause communication problems such as:
- slurred speech
- a monotonous tone
- a hoarse or unsteady voice
- small, spidery handwriting
- reduced facial expressions
- reduced body language, including hand gestures
What can help?
Speech and language therapy can help with all aspects of communication, including facial expressions, speech and body language.
To find out more go to: National Awareness Days or Parkinsons UK
Written by Rachel Harrison, speech and language therapist, on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services.
