The weather is getting cooler and the temperature difference between day and night is increasing, so the elderly and children can easily catch a cold if they are not careful. Parkinson’s disease patients, due to low immunity, once suffering from a cold, if not treated in a timely manner, resulting in lung infection and pneumonia, the consequences will be unimaginable.
The pneumonia is the first cause of death among the elderly over 80 years of age, and pneumonia induced by inhalation accounts for 1/3 of all pneumonia deaths among the elderly. The so-called aspiration pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs caused by the accidental inhalation of fluid, secretions or gastric contents from the mouth and pharynx into the larynx and lower whistle tract.
Patients with Parkinson’s disease are prone to aspiration pneumonia in the middle and late stages because of swallowing difficulties and choking and aspiration.
In addition to pneumonia caused by the flu and aspiration pneumonia caused by swallowing disorders, Parkinson’s disease patients in the middle and late stages, increased motor impairment, prolonged bed rest makes it difficult to cough up the secretions of the whistle tract, stagnation in the small and medium airways, become a good medium for bacteria, and easily induce crush pneumonia.
Pneumonic pneumonia is extremely dangerous for the elderly, and poor control can cause sepsis, toxemia, whistling distress, but also may increase the burden on the heart, causing pulmonary heart disease, which is quite dangerous. A significant number of elderly patients have unfortunately closed their eyes permanently as a result.
The famous mathematician and boxing champion Ali unfortunately suffered from Parkinson’s disease and battled with it for many years before both died of pneumonia, which led to infection and whistle circulation failure. There are more and more cases that show that pneumonia has become the “number one killer” of Parkinson’s patients.
What should Parkinson’s patients do to prevent pneumonia in their daily lives and what should they do if they accidentally develop pneumonia?
Pneumonia can be prevented by active prevention
1. Don’t delay catching a cold, prevent infection
Patients with Parkinson’s disease should seek prompt consultation and active treatment after catching a cold. Don’t delay the illness with the feeling that it’s not a big deal and that it will lead to pneumonia due to lung infection.
Caregivers should also pay more attention to the status of patients with Parkinson’s disease when caring for them, especially if they are older and have cold symptoms and are mentally lethargic and have a loss of appetite, they should be sent to the doctor in a timely manner.
2. Adjust the diet and optimize the way you eat
Patients with Parkinson’s disease have swallowing disorders, so they should increase the consistency of food in their daily diet and eat more soft and semi-liquid food to prevent aspiration. Patients should develop the habit of chewing and swallowing slowly, pay attention to swallowing excess saliva in the mouth when eating, move food around with the tongue when chewing, eat little at a time and eat slowly, drink water after eating, and swallow the remaining food to prevent aspiration pneumonia.
When caring for Parkinson’s disease patients with swallowing difficulties, family members should pay sufficient attention to the patient once they notice discomfort when eating solid or liquid food, even if the discomfort is occasional, to reduce the risk of aspiration and aspiration pneumonia.
3. Keep the oral cavity clean and improve the swallowing reflex function
Strengthening oral care can not only remove bacteria in the mouth and protect teeth, but more importantly, stimulate the sensory nerves in the oropharynx and promote the release of oral mucosal substances, thus improving the swallowing reflex function.
4, the use of appropriate body position, keep the whistle smooth
Parkinson’s disease patients at bed rest, generally can use the lateral position, when lying down also try to let the head to the side, so as to effectively prevent the back of the tongue and secretions blocking the whistling tract. And with GERD it is important to keep the side lying position.
For some bedridden patients, more help turning the patient and snapping the back can help prevent the occurrence of pneumonia. To do this, lightly clench your fist (note the hollow palm) and gently snap rhythmically from the bottom up and from the outside in, encouraging the patient to cough as you do so.
Timely treatment to chase away the invisible killer
Mild pneumonia is very treatable, but if the disease is delayed and develops into severe pneumonia, its lethality rate is as high as 50%. Therefore, if pneumonia is diagnosed, it is important to cooperate with the doctor carefully and treat it actively.
There is no conflict between the treatment of pneumonia and Parkinson’s disease itself, but most patients with Parkinson’s disease suffer from other complicating symptoms, and patients must not conceal their condition during treatment to avoid misjudgment by their doctors.
In conclusion, it is important to uphold the principle of early prevention and early treatment in dealing with pneumonia, and we hope that Parkinson’s patients and their families will be more alert and aware. We wish every Patients can stay away from pneumonia and live happily.