More about Parkinson's

 

There are no blood tests, or scans to tell one's doctor that they have Parkinson's, in 1967 some doctors developed a system of stages to determine how advanced the condition is.

There are five stages of Parkinson's, here is a brief description of the stages.

STAGE 1: People with Parkinson's have symptoms only one one side of the body, such as a tremor or some rigidity and slowness of movement in one arm or leg (or both if on the same side of the body).

STAGE 2: Symptoms appear on both sides of the body or in the midline of the body, such as decreased facial expression, drooling, stooping or shuffling while walking. However, there are no problem with balance. The first two stages are considered mild.

STAGE 3: As soon as the sufferer begins having trouble with balance they have crossed into stage three. In this stage they don't need help walking or getting up from a seated position but their body movements are becoming increasingly slow. The disease is now considered mild to moderate.

STAGE 4: A person with Parkinson's can no longer be completely independent, with symptoms including disabling slowness of movement and stiffness are moderate to severe. The disease impact on balance and walking is so great that them suffer usually needs help to walk. However, they can generally still get in and out of bed and in and out of a chair without help.

STAGE 5: Once the sufferer is unable to get up from a chair or in and out of bed without help they have crossed into stage five and will require help with pretty much daily actives and may soon find themselves in a nursing home.