Parkinson’s is one of the most common nervous system disorders of the elderly. One in every 500 people suffers from Parkinson’s disease in the UK – approximately 127,000. Onset is more common in people over 50 years of age, but it can also occur in younger adults if it is in the family.
Nerve cells in the brain use the chemical dopamine to help control muscle movement throughout the body. In Parkinson’s disease, the nerve cells that make dopamine are destroyed, making it impossible for the brain to send proper signals to muscles in the rest of the body.
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Our support team are online 24/7 to answer your questions and work with you to design a customized plan of care that is right for you.
What are the symptoms?
Many people will have noticed symptoms for some time prior to their medical diagnosis. These often begin with aching and stiffness or a mild tremor and a general feeling of fatigue and weakness. Although there is no known cure for Parkinson’s disease, it is important to get an early diagnosis. This enables you to receive the right treatment, domiciliary care and support in order to continue living as normal life as possible.
Parkinson’s can affect one or both sides of the body. The progression of this disease and the impact will vary for each person. Some of the symptoms will be physical; such as tremors or involuntary shaking, slowing or stopping of movements and increasing stiffness. These can cause difficulties with automatic responses such as blinking or walking, talking, swallowing, co-ordination and balance. Other symptoms may be less obvious to the outside eye, but are equally debilitating such as bowel and bladder problems, difficulty sleeping, excessive sweating, anxiety and depression.
Fikados Healthcare supports you and your family
There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, however, treatment, domiciliary care and support can help to manage the symptoms. For example, medicines to increase the levels of dopamine in the brain, physiotherapy and speech therapy. Lifestyle changes can also help, such as regular exercise and good nutrition and hydration.
At Fikados Healthcare, we aim to support you to live as well as possible through all of the changes to your condition. We listen to what is important to you and the goals that you wish to achieve. Together we create a domiciliary care plan that sets out how we will provide a specialized service that is tailored to your individual needs and preferences, allowing you to remain in the familiar surroundings of your own home. This might include:
- Support to continue with the social activities you enjoy
- Cognitive stimulation such as reading or talking
- Help with everyday tasks from getting dressed in the morning and having breakfast to taking a shower and getting ready for bed at night
- Making sure you have the medicines you need
- Support to maintain a healthy diet and to keep hydrated
- Assistance with housework, shopping and laundry
- Help with exercises to strengthen muscles and increase mobility
- Or up to 24 hour domiciliary care to give families and carers the opportunity to take a break.