Caring for someone with Parkinson’s disease means adapting to a new way of life, learning how to manage symptoms, and helping them stay as independent as possible.
Jessica Hegg from Vive Health explains what Parkinson’s is and how symptoms affect daily life. She also shares helpful tips on preventing falls, increasing independence, managing freezing episodes, and managing Parkinson’s medications.
What is Parkinson’s Disease?
Parkinson’s is a degenerative disease that affects the brain and central nervous system. It mostly affects the part of the brain that controls body movement.
Parkinson’s damages the brain cells that are responsible for producing the neurotransmitter dopamine. Without dopamine, which carries important messages to other parts of the brain and body, brain cells can’t function properly and may even die off.
This causes a loss of motor capabilities (body movement) as well as a decline in automatic functions such as blinking, smiling, or swinging your arms when you walk.
How Parkinson’s Symptoms Affect Daily Life
Symptoms of Parkinson’s primarily affect how the body moves, which significantly changes daily life for both you and your older adult.
Symptoms may include:
- Tremors – a main symptom of Parkinson’s. It often begins in the hands, arms, and legs, occurring when the body is at rest and resolving when movement begins.
- Slowed movements (bradykinesia) – a key marker of Parkinson’s, it may look like dragging feet on the floor or taking an extremely long time to complete basic tasks.
- Contracture – a growing rigidity of muscles and joints that limit range of motion and flexibility. It can even lead to skeletal deformities.
- Balance problems – weakness, muscle rigidity, and slowed movements all contribute to balance problems and increased risk of falling.
- Speech changes – a decrease in voice volume, as well as slurred or slowed speech accompanies progression of Parkinson’s Disease.
Additional non-motor symptoms can also impact daily life. These include excessive sweating, loss of smell, mood/personality changes, constipation, urinary urgency, difficulty writing, trouble sleeping, hallucinations, and even neck pain.
Parkinson's Disease and Fall Prevention
A main responsibility when caring for someone with Parkinson’s is preventing and managing falls. Because of all the movement-related symptoms, fall risk increases significantly and can lead to serious injury and increased risk of death.
Fall prevention includes improving home safety with grab bars, handrails, and overhead lighting, as well as clearing clutter and installing alarm equipment such as fall mats or medical alert systems.
Caregivers also need to learn proper techniques for helping someone back to their feet after a fall. The Parkinson’s Foundation shares helpful tips in its handy guide:
- Make sure they’re not injured
- Give them time to rest before moving
- Help them scoot to a large piece of furniture they can use for support
- Use a transfer belt or other transfer/lifting device to assist you
- Try not to panic and help your loved one relax to avoid stress-induced anxiety or freezing episodes
Maintaining Independence with Parkinson's Disease
In addition to impaired mobility, Parkinson’s can make seemingly simple tasks like brushing teeth and eating very difficult. But staying as independent as possible is important for your older adult’s self-esteem and well-being.
Assistive devices such as dressing aids, shower chairs, and reacher grabbers can help older adults accomplish more tasks on their own. Plus, there are products that are designed specifically for Parkinson’s that counteract symptoms like tremors and contracture. For example, spoons for people with Parkinson’s are specially designed to make feeding oneself easier and less messy.
Managing Parkinson’s “Freezing Episodes”
As Parkinson’s worsens over time, “freezing episodes” may happen. This is where your older adult will literally stop everything they are doing (“freeze”) and be unable to move.
For example, they could be walking through a room, approaching a doorway, and then unable to move forward. Freezing episodes are confusing and dangerous because they can lead to falls.
Expert Tips on How to Manage Freezing Episodes:
- Asking your older adult to shift weight from one leg to the other
- Putting on music, singing, or counting to help your loved one keep moving
- Placing tape on the floor at doorways your loved one commonly uses (a line made with tape, drawn with pencil, etc. can help the brain cue the legs to walk “over” something when they freeze
- Encouraging them to try a different type of movement to get the body started, like raising a hand or turning their head
Managing Parkinson’s Medications
Medication management is another important part of caring for someone with Parkinson’s. Many medications have very specific guidelines for when and where they should be taken.
For example, some pills must be taken only a certain amount of time after eating. Or, a patch must be applied to a specific part of the body that changes daily.
Being vigilant about managing these medications with reminders, charts, and organizers helps manage Parkinson’s symptoms.
Final Thoughts on Caring for Someone with Parkinson's Disease
Living with and caring for someone with Parkinson's is a continuous journey of adaptation and courage. By equipping yourself with knowledge, from understanding symptoms to managing medications, from fall-proofing your home to navigating freezing episodes, you transform daily challenges into opportunities for empowerment.
This journey is not about perfection, but about progress, patience, and the profound connection forged in shared resilience. Remember, the goal is not just to manage a disease, but to support a life filled with dignity, safety, and as much joyful independence as possible.
Recommended for you:
- How Parkinson’s Disease and Dementia Are Related
- 7 Meaningful Ways to Support Seniors with Chronic Illness
- Could Your Senior’s Medications Cause Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease?
Guest contributor: Jessica Hegg is the content manager at ViveHealth.com. Interested in all things related to a healthy lifestyle, she works to share valuable information to help others overcome obstacles and improve their quality of life.
About the Author
Jessica Hegg is a manager at ViveHealth.com. Ms. Hegg was also a full-time caregiver for her Mom who had Primary Progressive MS and Epilepsy. She is a freelance writer with a passion for cooking and lives in Austin, TX with her Mom and her wonderful husband. You can find her personal blog about caregiving tips, ideas, and solutions at Givea.Care.
