Find Out About Parkinson’s Disease With Your Stroudsburg, PA Comfort Keepers® 

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a central nervous system disorder that affects movement and is most common in seniors age 60 and older. PD symptoms start gradually and can include both motor and non motor symptoms. 

Most people are familiar with the motor symptoms associated with PD, such as tremors, slowness of movement, or trouble with balance, but it is important to remember that there are non-motor symptoms too. Your loved one may experience things like constipation, insomnia and vivid dreams, or even hallucinations or delusions. 

In fact, around 50% of people with PD will experience hallucinations or delusions during the course of the disease. 

What Causes Parkinson’s Disease Hallucinations And Delusions?

Currently, the exact cause of PD hallucinations and delusions is unknown and there is no reliable way to predict who is going to experience them. One theory says that they could be a side effect of certain dopamine therapies and another supposes that they are just 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?

These are a few of the signs that someone with PD is experiencing hallucinations or delusions that you and your loved one 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 stress hallucinations or delusions can put on people with PD, as well as the likelihood that they will increase in severity, it is imperative that you pay attention to any warning signs that may signal that your loved one is experiencing them.  

If you believe your senior is experiencing hallucinations or delusions, be sure to contact their PD specialist. 

How Comfort Keepers® In Home Care Can Help! 

There often comes a time in life when you need just a bit of extra help, and that is where your local Comfort Keepers® can step in! We offer more than just in home care and assistance with everyday tasks that people with PD may have difficulty with, we offer Interactive Caregiving™.

Interactive Caregiving™ is our brand of in home care that states that seniors live their happiest, healthiest, and most fulfilling life when they are supported mentally, physically, and socially. Our caregivers work together with their seniors in order to create activities, schedules, and more that seniors can look forward to and most importantly enjoy. 

Whether your loved one likes spending time in the library searching for their next great read or enjoys trying out interesting new recipes, or spending time taking classes with friends at the local senior center, our caregivers will encourage and support them. Our goal is always to empower seniors to do more than just view, and provide them with safety and security in their home, rather than “the home”.

If you’d like to learn more about Comfort Keepers® available Parkinson’s Disease in home care services, our full list of care services available in Stroudsburg, or if you’d like to schedule your free in home consultation, please contact us online anytime or call us at (570) 234-0743.

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.