Comments on: Alzheimer’s: Spitting Problem http://alzheimersdaze.com/alzheimers/spitting-problem/ Wasting the daze gone bye Sun, 12 Feb 2012 04:38:30 +0000 hourly 1 By: Cecilia. G http://alzheimersdaze.com/alzheimers/spitting-problem/comment-page-1/#comment-3435 Cecilia. G Thu, 31 Mar 2011 07:57:51 +0000 http://charlesharmon.com/?p=101#comment-3435 It's interesting to read of other dementia sufferers with this problem. My father was diagnosed with Parkinson's and dementia and he is an incessant spitter. My mother, sister, and I care for him at home, so one can imagine the problem there is with him spitting on every surface he comes by. Like you wrote, we have to always be after him to wipe or mop his spit off of the walls, counters, doors, floors, the car, etc. While we do notice a pattern in his spitting, for example:when he needs/wants something; If he's bored and anxious; or if he forgets how to say something, we have no idea if those really are the reasons why he does it. Our uncertainty lies in that he'll spit no matter what. Sometimes he does it for a whole hour straight, and by then he certainly has no more saliva left, in which case he'll wring his mouth out real hard..At first we thought maybe he did it only with us, but when he started spitting at our lady neighbor, whom he adores, we realized that it was part of the illness. His doctors have told us that many Parkinson's patients, particularly ones with dementia, have the tendency to drool. Mainly because they progressively lose the ability to swallow and that in my father's case, he spits. But, after reading this I think we should ask his doctors about the saliva buildup on his next visit. *I'd like to mention a nasty little detail about the intensity of my father's spitting. He also suffers from COPD. One would think that a weakness in the lungs would disable a person to spit very hard or far at all, but when he gets in one of his terrible moods, it's best for everyone if they don't stand closer than a couple yards in front of him. At home we get the feeling that this spitting has lots to do with the disease and the patient's moods. It’s interesting to read of other dementia sufferers with this problem. My father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and dementia and he is an incessant spitter. My mother, sister, and I care for him at home, so one can imagine the problem there is with him spitting on every surface he comes by. Like you wrote, we have to always be after him to wipe or mop his spit off of the walls, counters, doors, floors, the car, etc.

While we do notice a pattern in his spitting, for example:when he needs/wants something; If he’s bored and anxious; or if he forgets how to say something, we have no idea if those really are the reasons why he does it. Our uncertainty lies in that he’ll spit no matter what. Sometimes he does it for a whole hour straight, and by then he certainly has no more saliva left, in which case he’ll wring his mouth out real hard..At first we thought maybe he did it only with us, but when he started spitting at our lady neighbor, whom he adores, we realized that it was part of the illness.

His doctors have told us that many Parkinson’s patients, particularly ones with dementia, have the tendency to drool. Mainly because they progressively lose the ability to swallow and that in my father’s case, he spits. But, after reading this I think we should ask his doctors about the saliva buildup on his next visit.

*I’d like to mention a nasty little detail about the intensity of my father’s spitting. He also suffers from COPD. One would think that a weakness in the lungs would disable a person to spit very hard or far at all, but when he gets in one of his terrible moods, it’s best for everyone if they don’t stand closer than a couple yards in front of him. At home we get the feeling that this spitting has lots to do with the disease and the patient’s moods.

]]>