Sepsis and Parkinson's Disease

Many chronic or progressive diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease, put you at risk for developing infections. As Parkinson’s disease progresses, it can become increasingly difficult to swallow food and drink without choking. You may aspirate the food or drink, which means it goes into the lungs instead of your stomach. When you aspirate, you can develop pneumonia, an infection that can trigger sepsis.

Sepsis is a life-threatening emergency that happens when your body’s response to an infection damages vital organs and, often, causes death. Like strokes or heart attacks, sepsis is a medical emergency that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment.

Suggested Citation:
Sepsis Alliance. Sepsis and Parkinson’s Disease. 2024. https://www.sepsis.org/sepsisand/parkinsons-disease/

Updated March 14, 2024.

 

More About Parkinson's Disease

Definition

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurological disorder that affects how your muscles move. In the beginning stages, it can be easy to miss the early signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The most common ones include:

  • Tremors, usually starting with the fingers or hand
  • A noticeable change in handwriting
  • Walking is slower, movement is stiffer
  • Stiff, rigid muscles
  • Loss of balance
  • Stooped posture
  • Quieter voice, difficulty speaking
  • Stiff, mask-like face
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Memory loss
Diagnosis

Parkinson’s disease is often diagnosed by the typical signs and symptoms related to the disease. There are no specific tests for Parkinson’s disease. However, your doctor may send you for other tests, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other imaging tests to rule out any other conditions that may be causing your symptoms.

Causes

It’s not yet known what causes Parkinson’s disease, but researchers believe that some people may be at higher risk of developing the disease. They include people who have:

  • A family history of Parkinson’s disease
  • Been exposed to toxins, such as some insecticides
  • Experienced head trauma
Treatment

Parkinson’s disease is not curable. Treatments focus on relieving symptoms as much as possible and allowing you to remain as independent as possible for as long as possible.

There are different types of drugs that may help relieve or lessen tremors and make it easier to control muscle movement.

There also has been some success with deep brain stimulation for some patients. Research is ongoing.

Falls and Traumas

People with movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease are at risk of falling and injuring their skin. These injuries can become infected. Falls can also cause fractures, such as a broken hip. If a fracture breaks through the skin (an open fracture) or needs surgery for the bone to be set, again, infection is possible.

Healthcare-acquired Infections

When you have a chronic or progressive illness, healthcare facility admissions aren’t unusual. This puts you at risk for developing healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs), most frequently infections such as MRSA and C. difficile.

There are many ways someone with a chronic or progressive can develop an infection, so it’s important to always be aware of the possibility, and to watch for the signs and symptoms of sepsis. Quick recognition and treatment is the key to survival.

Related Resources

Deb de B

Translated from Dutch, original text below. We went to Spain on holiday for 9 days. My husband and I had 4 wonderful days but I started not feeling well on the 5th day. I was vomiting and had diarrhea. I spent the next day in the hotel room. I had muscle pains all over my body and a swollen belly. My husband asked a doctor come. I had some flu symptoms. The doctor gave me some kind of injection in my buttock, paracetamol and something to treat dehydration. That was that. At night I woke up to pee, but I ... Read Full Story

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Shama Dunlow

As a 19-year-old, I never thought I’d get sepsis. I initially thought it was bad asthma since the it started getting colder and with college and work, I thought maybe I was pushing myself too hard. It was Thanksgiving break and I was at work when I first started feeling out of breath. It felt like asthma, I didn’t feel sick. It wasn’t until 4 days later that I started to get a fever and my lungs felt like they were being weighed down. I couldn’t eat and I started to throw up throughout the night. It was the night ... Read Full Story

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Paula Jacobs

After working on development of one of the country’s first electronic sepsis alerts, followed by 18 years of leading teams in early detection and treatment of sepsis, I thought I knew everything there was to know about sepsis. But I did not know how it makes you feel. That all changed in 2016 when I developed severe sepsis after just a couple of days of fever from undiagnosed pneumonia. (Sepsis and Pneumonia) There was no preceding upper respiratory illness, no cough, just fever and extreme fatigue. It was about the sickest I had ever felt, with that vague yet horrible ... Read Full Story

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David Blankenship

My father died tragically and unexpectedly of sepsis on March 5th, 2024. It is now September 15th, yet we all feel like it was yesterday. Mom and Daddy lived in Harlingen, Texas. He struggled with Type 2 diabetes and a few other health issues and was always checking his sugar and blood pressure numbers and diligently recording them. After my father died, I moved back to Harlingen to live with my mother. My sister lives in Colorado. On February 25th, a mere 10 days before Daddy died, Mom was scheduled to perform in a pageant. Daddy was going to help ... Read Full Story

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Gary Barrett

I was a healthy active 49 year old, participating in every sport I could find, after feeling unwell for about 10 days with pain and inflammation I went to the doctors I was told I had just pulled a muscle in my side and not to worry. At 1am I woke my wife up to say I could not stand the pain anymore and needed the hospital. She rushed me there and I collapsed at the entrance. I was unconscious for most of the following day, unaware of that I was losing the battle to live. The doctor, who I ... Read Full Story

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Other Topics

Parkinson’s Disease