\n
This is actually a fairly common and distressing phenomenon in the course of Parkinson’s disease (PD), medically known as Parkinsonian Psychotic Disorder (PDP)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFor patients, the images they see are usually very real and concrete, not random ramblings. There are clear neurological reasons behind this, rather than the patient being “crazy” or “seeing something supernatural.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n1. Why do patients see “non-existent things”?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There are three main reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Dopamine Imbalance (Drug Factors):<\/strong> Parkinson’s disease medications (such as levodopa) are designed to supplement dopamine in the brain to improve motor function. However, if dopamine activity is excessively high<\/strong> in certain areas of the brain responsible for vision and emotion, hallucinations can occur. This is a side effect of “treating the hands and feet but interfering with the brain’s visual processing.”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Degeneration of the Visual Processing System:<\/strong> The brains of PD patients experience “noise” when processing visual signals. When the light is dim or the environment is cluttered, the brain tries to “fill in” these blurred signals, resulting in mistaking curtains for standing people or electrical wires for snakes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Sleep Disorders:<\/strong> Many patients have REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep behavior disorder, blurring the line between dreams and reality, leading to persistent hallucinations after waking.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
2. What do they usually “see”?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease typically have the following characteristics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Small Animals or Children:<\/strong> Frequently seeing cats or dogs running past their feet, or unfamiliar children appearing in the house.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Shadows or Profiles:<\/strong> Feeling shadows flashing in the corner of their eye (called “passing shadow hallucinations”), or feeling someone behind them (called “presence hallucinations”).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Complex and Colorful:<\/strong> Hallucinations are usually very vivid, colorful images, and patients are often initially aware that “this isn’t real,” but as the disease progresses, their ability to distinguish between reality and illusion may decline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n3. How should you, as a caregiver, respond?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Your reaction is crucial when a patient says they saw a “non-existent person”:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2705 Recommended actions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n- Remain calm and empathetic:<\/strong> For the patient, that visual experience is real. You can say, “I didn’t see that person, but did they frighten you?”<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Improve lighting:<\/strong> Hallucinations most often occur at dusk or late at night. Increasing the brightness of the room and eliminating large shadows on the walls can significantly reduce the chance of the brain misinterpreting the image.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Distract them:<\/strong> Gently touching the patient or guiding them to look at other parts of the room can sometimes dispel hallucinations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\u274c Actions to avoid:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n- Don’t argue:<\/strong> Harsh denial (“That’s nonsense, there’s no one there!”) can frustrate, isolate, and even lead to paranoia in the patient.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Don’t dance along:<\/strong> Don’t pretend you saw it too (“Oh yes, he’s there, I’ll say hello to him”), as this will reinforce the patient’s hallucinations and further confuse their cognition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n4. Medical Management<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If the hallucinations are affecting the patient’s mood (fear, anxiety) or sleep, it is recommended to discuss with a neurologist:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Adjusting medication:<\/strong> The doctor may try reducing the dosage of certain medications that easily induce hallucinations (such as anticholinergics or dopamine receptor agonists).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Specific antipsychotic medications:<\/strong> Some specific medications (such as Clozapine<\/strong> or Quetiapine<\/strong>) can effectively control hallucinations without worsening the tremors.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHow can I help you?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Understanding this phenomenon usually reduces the psychological stress on family members. Is what the elderly person is currently seeing terrifying? Or would you like to know how to communicate with your doctor to strike a balance between “controlling tremors” and “reducing hallucinations”?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"People with Parkinson’s disease can see people an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/lovejade.org\/?author=1"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"People with Parkinson’s disease can see people an...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovejade.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovejade.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovejade.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejade.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejade.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=107"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lovejade.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108,"href":"https:\/\/lovejade.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions\/108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovejade.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejade.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovejade.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}