Today, 11th April is World Parkinson’s Day. The day is marked annually to raise awareness and educate people about Parkinson’s, its effects and to help and support the patients ailing from the disease.
April 11th also marks the birthday of Dr. James Parkinson, who identified Parkinson’s as a as a medical condition and published an article, ‘An Essay on the Shaking Palsy’ in 1817.
So the question many people ask is what is Parkinson’s, its symptoms, causes and treatments?
Only a fool will ignore knowing what the early signs or symptoms are, because the disease makes the affected person ultra dependent on others in almost everything because the common symptoms of Parkinson’s are tremors, shaking of hands, change of voice, slowness in all activities. A person takes more time bathing, wearing clothes, eating food, the walk becomes slow, the person tends to drag feet while walking and can develop imbalance also. It also affects the people emotionally as they struggle to acknowledge the verbal and nonverbal emotional cues.
Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease which affects the neurological system. The disease occurs with advancing age though it can also affect the young people of less than 50 years of age. According to the latest data from the Parkinson’s Foundation, over 10 million people suffer from Parkinson’s worldwide.
In our environment, many persons are always quick to say Parkinson’s will never happen to them or it is not their portion to contract it. But how do they know when it is not even certain what causes it?
Apart from using the day to raise awareness and educate people about Parkinson’s, its effects and to help and support the patients ailing from this disease, the celebration is to make sure that the support and acceptance of the Parkinson’s patients can help reduce their suffering.
In 1997, the World Health Organisation, WHO, and the European Parkinson’s Disease Association, EPDA, announced the celebration of the World Parkinson’s Day with an aim to provide the patients and health care people a way to work together to raise awareness about the disease.
At the 9th World Parkinson’s Disease Day Conference in 2005, a red tulip was chosen as the condition’s official emblem.
As usual, it is difficult to get the statistics of those affected in Nigeria but many notable people have suffered the disease worldwide. I know of friends who have Parkinson’s and Nigeria’s Dr. Adewunmi Desalu after whom the Adewunmi Desalu Parkinson Foundation is named brought the ailment to the fore and they have annually organised events to create awareness among Nigerians – those who will listen and learn more about it.
Apart from Dr. Desalu and other Nigerians, notable figures with Parkinson’s, past and present include actor, director, screenwriter and author Alan Alda,
Late world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1984 just three years after retiring from boxing, 41st President of the U.S. George H.W. Bush who still lived till age 94, singer and songwriter Neil Diamond and actor and philanthropist Michael J. Fox who remains is one of the most recognizable Parkinson’s advocates in the world. There is also the well-known evangelist Billy Graham, Rev. Jesse Jackson, the influential and outspoken civil rights leader who strived for equality since the 1960s and marched alongside Martin Luther King, Jr., comedian and actor Robin Williams who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s just three months prior to his death in August 2014, and St. Pope John Paul II who was diagnosed in 1991 and died in 2005.
These are just the notable names. There are more than 10 million other sufferers out there.
The theme for 2023 World Parkinson’s Awareness Day is #Take6forPD, in light of the new incidence study which indicates that a person receives a Parkinson’s disease (PD) diagnosis every six minutes.
This means it is scary and no one can ignore the disease.
As one of the most common neurological disorders in the world, it is sad that Parkinson’s prevalence is still undetermined, especially in places like Nigeria due to the lack of awareness and scientific literature.
Parkinson’s is treatable but there is no cure for it. However, there are a variety of therapies available. Due to the complexity of the condition, each person suffers differently with the disease with the difference in the symptoms development. Parkinson’s disease is not deadly but the life expectancy depends upon the type of Parkinson’s a patient is ailing from.
When it comes to Parkinson’s, medications are only part of the treatment plan. Exercise, physical therapy and complementary therapies often help, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation. Genetics and environmental situations are the main causes of the disease but there is hardly any same thing association with two sufferers so it can be hard to tell if you or a loved one has Parkinson’s disease.
However, the 10 early signs of Parkinson’s are slight shaking or tremor in your finger, thumb, hand or chin while at rest; your handwriting gets much smaller than it was in the past and the words are crowded together; if you no longer smell certain foods very well; if you have trouble sleeping, thrash around in bed or act out dreams when you are deeply asleep, especially if it is sudden movements during sleep; trouble moving or walking or feel stiff in the body, arms or legs, including that your arms don’t swing like they used to when you walk; if there has been a change in your voice and sometimes you might think other people are losing their hearing, when really you are speaking more softly; facial masking, when people tell you that you have a serious, depressed or mad look on your face, even when you are not in a bad mood; dizziness or fainting when you stand up out of a chair, which could be a sign of low blood pressure and can be linked to Parkinson’s disease; and stooping or hunching over, when you are not standing up as straight as you used to and you or your family or friends notice that you seem to be stooping, leaning or slouching when you stand.
The signs above could be of Parkinson’s disease but none one can jump to conclusions. It is a warning to see a doctor so that proper diagnostic tests can be carried out. This is part of the awareness that the Annual Parkinson’s Day is meant to create so that people are better educated and can start treatment if necessary.
Thank you for writing this informative piece Epa
Very informative and an eye opener on what to look out for, may our good Lord keep our body and soul safe. AMEN.
Thanks for the insight sir. Highly educative and cautioning.
Thank you for throwing more awareness about Parkinson Disease. I doubt if a lot of Nigeria knows more about the disease. There is medication for but but the cure has not been found as you rightly said. I hope one day the cure for it will be available. I observed that it affect men more than women. What l don’t know is whether suffer from it.
I do not think it is gender sensitive. Most women are more likely to stay home rather than expose themselves and be seen as not well. I have seen such instance. That is not o say too, that many families, especially children, don’t keep their parents holed up at home when they have Parkinson’s. They don’t want people to know.