Parkinson's sufferers are often dependent on the help of relatives. But this is not always easy. They need strong nerves and a lot o...
Parkinson's sufferers are often dependent on the help of relatives. But this is not always easy. They need strong nerves and a lot of stamina.
Parkinson is the second most common neurological disorder. This is a disease in the brain in which the movement sequences and the mobility are themselves restricted. According to the competence network Parkinson e.V., about 280,000 people are affected by this disease alone in Germany - the trend is rising.
The diagnosis is bad, but not only for the affected one a world collapses, but also the life for many relatives is put in one blow on the head. The self-reliance of patients continues to go from stage to stage, which makes help from outside unavoidable.
Symptoms often occur beforehand
Parkinson does not break from today to tomorrow. Frequently, the first symptoms already a few years before. They are rarely perceived as these. This is why the shock is greater for most of them.
Classical symptoms that point to Parkinson's:
Slowed movement (often less movement)
Stiff muscles
Disturbance of balance
Tremors in resting state
depressions
The most worrying thing is that no one really knows the extent to which the disease is restricted in everyday life. It is important to know that the disease can last for many years. Since it is not curable, but only symptoms can be treated, it is first and foremost to make life as comfortable as possible for us or to maintain the best quality of life. For this, the affected person needs help from outside.
5 tips for people with Parkinson's disease
➜ Suddenly everything is different
If the diagnosis is pronounced and half-processed, aggression is increasingly felt in many patients. This is also considered to be a further typical symptom of the disease. Those affected are afraid of the new situation and do not know what to expect. It also makes you angry, of course, when you can not manage the easiest things anymore, or only very slowly.
For a loved one, it is not easy, of course, to endure the constant gusto. Nevertheless, you should treat the patients as normally as possible. Do not pity him, just give him the feeling of being a normal person. The easier it is for him to ask for help or to accept help. By the way, there are special aids for those affected who make life with Parkinson's easier.
➜ Be empathetic and patient
Dressing, washing, brushing teeth - daily work is done very slowly. Be patient and be sensitive if the patient is a little awkward. The affected person should be involved in the daily hygiene as long as it is possible, after all it is often bad enough for the psyche that one does not get regulated by itself.
It is also important to know that people suffering from Parkinson's disease often react defiantly. If you want to take away your work all the time, you feel inferior and do nothing.
Even if it is sometimes difficult, just when it is a little tight in time, be modest and give the person concerned the time he needs to do a variety of work.
What helps many patients is the visit to a self-help group. The German Parkinson Association Bundesverband eV is exactly one self-help group, which offers approx. 450 regional groups and contact points.
➜ Offer distraction
Anyone who thinks about the disease feels bad. Divert the affected person. If he already has a hobby, it would be an advantage if you let this revive. Also company games can provide variety or just serve to get the head once free.
Perhaps the sufferer is also fond of a new hobby, which may be easier to reconcile with the disease. It is an advantage (also for the mind of the patient), if the remaining abilities are better used and demanded.
➜ Eliminate tripping
As is the case with patients with dementia, it is important to make the apartment fall-resistant and stolid. Those affected should be able to move freely and independently through the apartment. One of the biggest pitfalls is carpets. If you do not want to remove this completely, at least a special underlay should stick, so that the carpet does not slip away. Also the sticking of the edges is helpful, in order not to stumble or hang over it.
Even the wrong footwear is a common cause of falls. Instead of simple slippers, the sufferer should rather wear solid shoes, with which he can nowhere hang.
➜ Locate Help
The further the disease progresses, the more difficult it becomes. The sufferer can often no longer be alone and stay alone in the own four walls. But that is just what most want - living in their accustomed and protected environment. For relatives who still have a job and a family at the same time, this is hardly feasible. A very good alternative would be a 24-hour care, for example, where an experienced caregiver lives with the patient in the house. She supports him in normal everyday life, takes care of him in various activities and thus enables the patient to remain in his familiar environment and relieve you as a member of the family.
If the stay in your own apartment is not an important criterion, then you can also go to a suitable nursing home if you can not guarantee complete care. However, calculate with a longer waiting period until the patient can be taken into care.
➜ Think of yourself
Care of a loved one with Parkinson's is undoubtedly not always easy. The forces leave behind, and the nerves are also more and more shining. Think of yourself with all your care. Take the time to meet friends, go back to your hobby, or simply relax on the couch.
Small time-outs give you strength and always remember that only when you are well, you can be of help to other people.
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