Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder by which people of various age groups are found to be affected today. The disease is common across both eastern as well as western countries.
But how exactly does the disease affect you? Well, it mainly affects the way you move. Our body movement is basically controlled by a chemical called dopamine that is secreted by the nerve cells. Thanks to dopamine, you can move smoothly, just the way you want to. In case of Parkinson’s disease the nerve cells break down and as a result they stop secreting dopamine. Naturally, you cannot move the way you wish to. The symptoms worsen with time and you are likely to face more difficulties with the passage of time.
Parkinson’s disease and Dementia are somewhat related. About 50-80% of people suffering from Parkinson’s disease are found to develop dementia too. It is featured by lack of proper thinking and reasoning. As a result, people may suffer from problems in memory, judgement and lack of concentration. They might also face difficulties in vision and speech or may go through problems of hallucination, depression and anxiety. They may also get irritated at the slightest of instances.
The symptoms, however, take time to develop and early detection of the disease can help you to treat it and get cured as seen in most of the cases. The main symptoms of the disease include tremor and stiffness in the legs. However, by the time these symptoms develop, you are already 40-50% affected by the disease. So let us get acquainted with the early sign of PD so that it can be detected and diagnosed at an early stage.
Inability to Sleep: This is one of the early symptoms of Parkinson’s disease which doctors often fail to detect. PD patients often suffer from RBD or Rapid Eye Movement Disorder in the initial stage where they tend to act out their dreams. This even includes attacking their partners in certain instances and showing violent behaviour.
Dysfunction of Facial Muscles: Stoppage of Dopamine synthesis affects the facial muscles and this, in turn, results in lack of expression. This may render the person emotionless to the eyes of another. The extreme form of this condition is known as ‘Parkinson’s Mask’. Frequent blinking of eyes and delay in smiling or frowning are also found in certain cases.
Inability to Smell: Sense of smell is also impaired to a great extent during the early stage of Parkinson’s Disease. The patients are often found to be incapable of recognizing the smell of perfumes and other similar stuffs.
Problem in Urinating and Bowel Movement: PD patients may also be found to face problems in urinating and constipation problems. Gastric trouble is also observed in certain cases. This is because the nerve cells signalling the muscles of bladder and those related to bowel movement die out due to the disease.
Pain in the Neck: During the early stage of PD patients are also observed to have pain in their neck. Stiffness, tingling sensation and discomfort may also be there.
Naturally, due to the above mentioned problems caused due to the dying out of nerve cells, the following side effects of Parkinson’s disease may be observed:
Drowsiness: People suffering from PD are likely to feel sleepy throughout the day as they do not have a good night’s sleep. During night, nightmares can make them restless and their sleep might be disturbed. RBD, as already discussed, may hamper their sleep.
Leakage of Urine: Due to improper functioning of the muscles near the urinary bladder, leakage of urine may be observed.
Apathy: Apathy or anxiety is also common and the patients have the tendency to get irritated or lose their calm at the slightest of instances. Their mood as well as personality changes and they cannot behave normally in changed situations and social withdrawals. They become depressed very easily and execution of important tasks might also be affected.
Cramped Handwriting: As a result of Dementia, the routine jobs of a person gradually become slower. The handwriting also becomes small and cramped than usual.
Excessive Sweating: Along with other parts of the body, the sweat glands also stop functioning properly and as a result there can be sweating as well as other skin problems. It may also lead to oily skin and oily scalp.
Reduced Arm Swing: As already discussed, muscles become stiff due to PD and arms cannot stretch across considerable distances, as a result. In other words, the arms do not go where the brain tells them to go.
Thus a Parkinson’s disease patient has to go through all of these or at least some of these problems. The disease affects them mentally as well as physically and hampers their day to day activities severely.
