Parkinson’s sufferers ‘stay home amid fear of ridicule’

SCOTS with Parkinson’s avoid social situations as people think they are drunk or unfriendly because of their symptoms, researchers have found.

Negative experiences such as those and being laughed at have affected 83 per cent of those living with the condition.

In addition, 58 per cent said they have cancelled or avoided social situations because they are embarrassed about their symptoms, or concerned about how people will react to them.

Parkinson’s is a degenerative neurological condition for which there is at present no cure. The main symptoms include tremor, slowness of movement and rigidity.

The survey of 183 Scots with Parkinson’s by the charity Parkinson’s UK Scotland also found one-third said their less expressive facial expressions – an effect of the condition – had been misinterpreted as being unfriendly. One-fifth said their imbalance or slurred speech had been misinterpreted as drunkenness.

More than 80 landmarks across Scotland are today lighting up in blue to mark World Parkinson’s Day and raise awareness of the condition that affects 12,400 people north of the Border.

Annie Macleod, director of Parkinson’s UK Scotland, said: ‘Parkinson’s can be brutal.

‘We need everyone to recognise Parkinson’s as the serious health condition it is, and the major impact it has on everyday life so that people with Parkinson’s do not continue to experience such appalling misunderstanding of their symptoms.’