Nursing age x3 (due: 24 hours).
1) Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The disease affects motor activity and causes tremors, stiffness or slowness in movement, as well as postural instability.
2) Signs and symptoms in older people can include tremor (shaking), difficulty initiating voluntary movements like walking or talking, rigidity – muscle tension makes it difficult to move arms or legs without assistance, slowed movements (akinesia or bradykinesia), decreased facial expression and speech changes such as monotony of voice or small mistakes while saying daily words.
3) The treatment of Parkinson’s disease primarily focuses on alleviating the symptoms to maintain balance and avoid falls. Levodopa, which helps increase dopamine levels in the brain and anticholinergic medications that reduce involuntary movement, are some examples of this treatment. Surgery may also be required in certain cases. A physical therapist can teach exercises for strength, flexibility, coordination and balance. Occupational therapy focuses on improving functioning at home, learning strategies for completing activities of daily living with less effort/fatigue due to improved coordination/stamina through exercises like re-learning how to dress oneself independently; adaptive equipment can be used when needed as well if there’s difficulty reaching high places etc. Speech therapy can focus on articulation skills by developing drills that specifically target sound productions including vowels and consonants; this strengthens musculature near vocal cords thus providing smoother speech flow over time regardless if there’s poor breath control due associated with PD sometimes leading to dysarthria (slurred speech).
4) Nursing implications related to Parkinson’s Disease include patient assessment & education about risks factors like fall prevention management plan including correcting unsafe environment hazards plus proper use of assistive devices such as walkers for balance support during ambulation activities& avoiding sudden unexpected movements when possible since increases risk tripping accidents caused by disequilibrium between body positioning & anticipated target position prior starting motion sequence so smooth transitions need practiced via mirror activity repetitively until automated response builds up within brain circuitry for better success rate achieved every time situation arises afterwards