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Parkinson's /
Parkinson's Disease: Tips for Caregivers/
By Sandra Ray, Staff Writer
Diet is especially important. If your loved
one is overweight, now is an excellent time to begin
managing weight loss. Even though obesity itself is
not a cause of Parkinson’s disease, it can be a
limiting factor in how much movement is possible as
the disease progresses. Losing weight can help your
body adjust quicker to movement-related issues and
can help muscles adjust to the extra demands of the
disease. Your physician can suggest dietary changes
that will provide the maximum health benefit and one
that can be easily adopted by others in the
household if this is a requirement.
While dietary supplements like Vitamin E do
virtually nothing to help with the disease
management, changes in diet may be needed over time.
If problems like swallowing do occur, changing the
types of food in the diet may become critical. In
addition, too much saliva can hinder swallowing, so
limiting the foods that aggravate salivation may be
helpful as well.
Traveling with Parkinson’s:
Many people feel that Parkinson’s disease limits
their ability to travel and enjoy the retirement or
later years. Instead, people with Parkinson’s can
still travel – they just need to make a few extra
planning steps in order to make their trip
enjoyable. Here are a few tips to consider:
- If you’re flying, arrive at the airport
earlier than usual to compensate for movement
difficulties that may arise as you navigate the
security checkpoints and allow for last-minute
gate changes by the airlines.
- Double-check your medication to make sure
that you have more than you’ll need for the
trip. If you’re stranded a few days at your
destination before you can return home, having
extra medication is not only handy – it’s a
necessity.
- If you can’t bring extra medication, check
to see if your pharmacy is available in the town
where you’ll be traveling. Make sure that you
have enough refills in case you need to pick one
up while you’re away.
- Keep emergency numbers stored in more than
one place – having them in the suitcase only,
for example, can be a problem if your luggage
takes a sudden detour while en route to your
destination. If possible, carry a small bag with
extra medication and emergency phone numbers,
including your physician’s.
- Plan extra time on you vacation for rest. In
the excitement of the trip, it’s easy to overdo
the amount of activity that is packed into one
day. Schedule rest time to make sure that your
body isn’t overtaxed. If you need to add more
days to the trip or plan less, it will be worth
it if you don’t have the stress of feeling as if
you were too limited by Parkinson’s.
Caregivers can do much to help their loved ones
keep the disease as manageable as possible. By
helping with medication management, doctor’s
appointments, keeping a consistent diet and exercise
plan, and even managing those fun vacation getaways,
caregivers can inject a feeling of hopefulness into
an area of life that could quickly become too
stressful. Reducing stress is also a key area to
consider with Parkinson’s, since stress has been
known to aggravate Parkinson’s symptoms.
There is no known cure for Parkinson’s, although
researchers are working on one every day. Until a
cure is found, the disease can be managed. The
effectiveness of the treatment relies a great deal
on the amount of planning and communication that
takes place at home, as well as that done in the
doctor’s office.
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