Parkinson’s is a disease that will affects one’s mobility. This disease normally is cause by some of the nerve cells in the brain grow abnormally. Nerve cells usually make a chemical calls “Dopamine” which works by sending certain signals to the part of the brain that controls movement and lets the muscles move smoothly. For a Parkinson patient, the nerve cells will break down and the patient will not be able to move the way he/ she want.
Parkinson gets worse with time but it normally glow slowly over the years. The causes for this disease is still unknown, but our doctors, specialists and scientists are keep looking for the answer. There is also no proof that Parkinson is cause by hereditary.
There are four major symptoms of Parkinson’s such as stiff muscles, slow movement, problem in walking and shaking of arms, hands and or legs. Tremor or shaking is one of the most significant symptom for Parkinson. Tremor or shaking mostly starts from one leg or arm, these symptoms is worse when awake. In time, it will affect the whole body and leading to problems such as hard swallowing, blank expressions, trouble in speaking and so forth. The symptoms normally start at the ages of 50 to 60 years but they still can start early depending on one’s body and health condition.
Before start the medication, doctor will first ask many questions about the symptoms you have before arrange you to go through a series of tests. Doctor will check your movement, your muscle strength, your mood and so on. There is no tests to actually proof whether you are really suffer for Parkinson, but the test arrange by doctor is helping to eliminate other diseases that might be caused the same symptoms, for example to take a test to check whether the symptom is caused by a brain tumor or stroke. If you start your medication early, you will get treatment before the symptoms start to get worse and affect your life. Doctor will keep on adjusting your medicines as the symptoms increase.
Levodopa drug is the best drug for controlling the symptoms but at the same time, it might cause side effects if it used for a long time too. Taking the medicine or which type to take will be different for every person; you will need to get your doctor advice for the right choice. You should stay away from bad habits such as smoking, taking too much of alcohol, improper diet habits, etc. You need to eat more healthy foods, get more rest and do more exercises or go for physiotherapy; it helps.
There are researchers found that certain environmental risk factors like chemicals, pesticides might increase the risks of getting Parkinson’s disease.
Beside doctors, if you need more professionals to help you in diagnose the disease, you may also look for a Neurologist or an internist. On the other hand, health professionals such as occupational therapist, speech therapist and physical therapist might also able to give you some advice.