What Is Parkinson’s Disease – The United States of America records more than 200,000 positive cases of Parkinson’s disease each year. It is one of the many neurological conditions a human can have.
It is one of the oldest and known diseases, as you can find its traces back in Egyptian, Ayurveda, Bible, and Galen’s writings. During the 17 and 18th centuries, several authors wrote about the disease.
In 1817 an English doctor named James Parkinson published and reported six cases of paralysis agitans. It was James Parkinson, whose name is behind Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurological disorder in which a person is not able to control movement. It usually starts as small, but over time, it gets worse. At the start, you might feel a bit of shake in your hand or constant muscle stiffness. After that, you might have trouble walking and maintaining your balance.
Your coordination with your legs and other body parts will get affected by that time. Slowly you might not be able to walk or sleep as you start having mental and memory problems. Overall it will affect everybody and every part of your body.
Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
Let’s take a look at all the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. These can also be your early signs as Parkinson’s disease starts slowly and gets work done by that time.
Before we move ahead, if you are having any of the symptoms that don’t have Parkinson’s disease, kindly clear your mind. There are other physical conditions in which you can get similar symptoms. It must be your Doctor Who concludes that you have Parkinson’s disease. Kindly do not come to your own conclusion after checking the symptoms.
Constant Shaking
Shaking is one of the first and most common symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. First of all, the shaking will begin in your hands and arms at the same time. After that, it will spread to your jaw or foot or both at the same time.
Usually, most people are affected by shaking on one side of the body. For example, 1 foot is shaking, not the other one. Apart from that, shaking will go away when you are sleeping, or you start moving your body part, which is shaking.
Muscle Stiffness
Even after minutes of massage or oiling your muscles, the stiffness in your limbs or muscles will not go away easily. You will always feel stiff muscles everywhere in your body. The ability to relax your muscles will get slower. Once the rigidity starts growing, you will find movement very hard along with the pain in those affected areas.
Bradykinesia
By the time Parkinson’s disease grows, you will feel that you are getting slower every day. It is becoming very hard for your brain to transmit the signals to other parts of your body, and as a result, it is taking more time to perform simple tasks such as drinking water.
The movement can be very hard for you for one second and very normal for the other. For example, you are eating, and the first half will be normal for you, but after that, eating one bite will become very hard.
Balance and Coordination
Your balance and coordination are also going to be affected by Parkinson’s disease. After a few years of disease, you might develop a forward lean of your body which makes you likely to fall when bumped.
Apart from that, it will be very hard for you to walk in a straight line. You will keep shuffling your steps left and right, and you might not be able to swing your arms as naturally as you used to do before.
Other Symptoms
Apart from the above given very common symptoms, there are a few symptoms that are very hard to recognize if you are not focusing enough.
For example, you might not be able to smile enough or blink as you were able to do before. By the time disease worsens and you will lack facial expressions. But these symptoms come after the disease is about to fully develop.
Apart from that, you might not be able to speak properly. You might hesitate before speaking, and your pitch may become slow. You might develop new depression and anxieties along with chewing and swelling problems.
The list goes long and long, and you have to talk to your Doctor about these small problems such as loss of smell and skin problems.
Causes of Parkinson’s Disease
As per the studies, there is no direct cause of Parkinson’s disease, and several genetic and environmental combinations are the main causes of Parkinson’s disease.
PD is one of the most diverse disorders in the world. No 2 people in the world experience Parkinson’s disease in the same way.
Genetics
The genetics of a person plays a huge role in getting Parkinson’s disease or not. There is 15% chance that you will get Parkinson’s disease due to your genetics. In recent studies, scientists have come to the conclusion that dozens of gene mutations are linked to Parkinson’s disease.
Environmental Factors
Apart from genetics, environmental factors play a huge role in someone getting Parkinson’s disease. Scientists believe it is the combination of genetics and environment which causes Parkinson’s disease.
As for the scientists, some environmental conditions may lower the risk of Parkinson’s disease, and others may increase it. Starting from exposure to pesticides video for residents, many factors can impact the environment and your chances of getting Parkinson’s disease.
Other Causes
Apart from the genetics and environmental causes, there are two other causes that can impact your possibility of getting Parkinson’s disease. It was pointed out that along with genetics and environment, your lifestyle also influences the possibility and cause of Parkinson’s disease. The unique combination of these three again determines if someone will develop Parkinson’s disease or not.
Diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is a very complex thing, and there is no way anyone can detect Parkinson’s disease. However, your Doctor might rule out other disorders by performing various tests.
During its early stage, it becomes very hard to detect either its parking services or any other disorder. At the start, you will have small shaky limbs or a little bit of stiffness which can be caused by other diseases also.
A professional who already has experience working with a person affected with Parkinson’s disease can detect it by looking at the other tests.
During your regular medical checkup, your doctor might ask you for your family history, rule out other infections and come to any conclusions such as Parkinson’s disease. We would suggest you not hide anything from your Doctor and keep your mind open.
Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease
Now let’s talk about the final thing of today’s piece of writing, which is the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Unfortunately, just like the diagnosis, there is no standard treatment for Parkinson’s disease.
Your doctor might recommend a few things based on your symptoms and severity. Your treatment might include medication and surgical therapy at the same time. Apart from that, your doctor might ask you to make a few modifications to your lifestyle and environment.
You will be advised to take multiple medications at the same time just to manage the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. You should always follow the directions given by your Doctor and have someone to take care of your daily doses of medication.
Takeaways
Parkinson’s disease is one of the most complex diseases in the world. It is a very rare neurological condition in which you are not able to control your body at all.
Unfortunately, there is no known cause of Parkinson’s disease along with any specific treatment. There are a number of combinations, including genetics, environment, and lifestyle of the person, which can cause Parkinson’s disease in a person.
On the other hand, the treatment only includes medications and surgery to lower the symptoms. There is no cure for Parkinson’s disease now.
Who is more vulnerable to getting Parkinson’s disease?
As per the data, men are more vulnerable to getting Parkinson’s disease by 50%. It means if there are a hundred women affected with Parkinson’s disease, then there will be 150 men. Usually, you will see people over the age of 60 affected with Parkinson’s disease, but 10% of total diagnosed people are 50 or before. It is fair to conclude that men over the age of 60 are more likely to get Parkinson’s disease than anyone else. As they fall under the category of age and gender, which is very dangerous.
I have Parkinson’s disease. Can I give it to my children?
Yes, genetics play a huge role in Parkinson’s disease, and it is possible that you might give your children Parkinson’s disease. But the chances of giving Parkinson’s disease to your children is 1 in 100 people. It is pretty low as compared to any other disease in the world.
