Hazleton, Pennsylvania
261 S Church St, Hazleton, PA 18201
(570) 450-0890
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All About Parkinson’s

Comfort Keepers In-Home Care in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

See What Parkinson’s Disease Hallucinations Are With Your Hazleton, PA Comfort Keepers®

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a central nervous system disorder that primarily affects seniors age 60 and older. PD begins gradually, often with a barely noticeable tremor in the hands, with symptoms progressing in severity over the course of the disease. 

 

There are many symptoms that people with PD may experience, both motor and non motor, although many people aren’t as aware of the non motor symptoms. Patients may experience things like sweating and body aches, loss of mental sharpness, dizziness, or hallucinations and delusions. Hallucinations or delusions can be particularly insidious, causing unnecessary stress on you or you loved one. 

 

Did you know that it is estimated that around 50% of people with PD will experience hallucinations or delusions?

Hallucinations And Delusions: What Causes Them?

While it is true that there are no concrete explanations for what causes PD related hallucinations or delusions there are a couple of theories. One suggests that they could be a side effect of certain dopamine therapies, while another supposes that they are simply a natural progression of PD. Risk factors can include:

  • Certain medications that increase dopamine levels 
  • Duration and severity of Parkinson’s 
  • Getting older

 

Healthcare providers may refer to these hallucinations or delusions as Parkinson’s Disease Psychosis, or PDP.

What Signs Should I Be Aware Of?

While it may not be possible to predict who will experience PD related hallucinations or delusions, there are signs you should be aware of:

 

Signs that a loved one may be experiencing hallucinations can include: seeing, smelling, tasting, hearing, or feeling things that are not really there. 

 

Signs that a loved one may be experiencing delusions can include: 

  • Thinking someone is trying to steal from, harm, or deceive them
  • Believing their loved one is being unfaithful
  • Thinking a TV show or song is talking directly to them

 

Due to the high potential of PD related hallucinations and delusions increasing in severity over time and how they can negatively affect the people experiencing them, it is extremely important to be aware of any signs that indicate your loved one is experiencing them. 

 

If you believe that your loved one is experiencing hallucinations or delusions, always be sure to speak with their PD specialist.   

How In Home Care Can Help Your Loved One!

If you’ve decided that in home care is right for yourself or your loved one, Comfort Keepers® is here to help! Our caregivers are able to provide assistance to seniors with PD in a variety of ways from helping around them with housekeeping to providing transportation to doctor appointments. 

 

More than that, however, our caregivers are trained in the Comfort Keepers® brand of in home care called Interactive Caregiving™. This is the idea that seniors are happiest, healthiest, and able to lead their most fulfilling life when they are supported mentally, physically, and socially. We provide as much, or little, support as your loved one needs to do all the things they love. 

 

This can mean driving them to visit friends and family for quality time together or to the library to find their next great read. Or maybe your senior enjoys trying new recipes? A caregiver can help them shop for ingredients and do the heavy lifting for your loved one. Or perhaps they just want to relax and enjoy their favourite TV shows. Whatever it is your senior enjoys, their caregiver will be there to assist them and make it so their golden years shine even brighter. 

 

If you’d like to learn more about how a Comfort Keepers® caregiver can assist you or your loved one with Parkinson’s Disease, our full list of in home care services available in Hazleton, or if you’d like to schedule your free in home consultation, please contact us online any time or call us at (570) 483-8913.

Resources For People With Parkinson’s Disease

  • National Parkinson’s Foundation: Improves the lives of people with Parkinson’s by improving care and advancing research toward a cure. They build on the energy, experience, and passion of their global Parkinson’s community.
  • American Parkinson’s Disease Association (APDA): The American Parkinson’s Disease Association is the largest grassroots network dedicated to fighting Parkinson’s disease and works tirelessly to help the approximately one million people with Parkinson’s to live life to the fullest. 
  • The Michael J. Fox Foundation For Parkinson’s Research: The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease through an aggressively funded research agenda and to ensuring the development of improved therapies for those living with Parkinson’s today. 
  • Davis Phinney Foundation For Parkinson’s: This foundation provides essential information, practical tools, and inspiration to people living with Parkinson’s and funds early phase, innovative research that focuses on exercise, speech, movement, and other factors that affect quality of life. Their goal is to help people with Parkinson’s live well today.