Parkinson's Disease Support Group
Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder often characterized by muscle rigidity, tremor, a slowing of physical movement, and in extreme cases, a loss of physical movement. The primary symptoms of Parkinsons are due to excessive muscle contraction, normally caused by the insufficient formation and action of dopamine, which is produced in the dopaminergic neurons of the...
When I first saw my doctor, and he strongly suspected PD, I asked about my runny nose, if it could be related. He said no, and prescribed I use some OTC allergy pills for the runny nose.
Well, tonight I decided to see if there was any correlation study out there. Lo and behold, I found the following:
"Our results are consistent with the findings of Friedman and others1,2 that a runny nose not due to allergies, sinus problems or colds occurs more frequently in PD than non-PD subjects. We further extend these findings and demonstrate that both rhinorrhea due to any cause and non-rhinitic rhinorrhea are unrelated to severity of nigrostriatal dopaminergic activity, or olfactory and motor dysfunction in PD."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3010315/
Interestingly enough, in the last year and a half, it hasn't been that bad. Maybe due to being on PD medication? But back then I was blowing my nose constantly for months.
I also did some searching on PD and boils, but didn't turn up anything. I had a case of chronic boils. No sooner would one set go away than a new group would take their place. This went on from Feb. 2012 until May. I discovered that chronic boils were caused by a nasal infection. I had to convince my doc to prescribe me some antibiotics you spread in your nose with a q-tip. Within a month they were gone and didn't come back. But right on the heals of getting rid of the boils is when I noticed my first symptoms of PD.So I've always wondered if there was any connection, like PD caused the boils or even if they played any part in the onset of PD symptoms, or just pure coincidence. I may never know, but at least I have an answer on the runny nose link.
Well, tonight I decided to see if there was any correlation study out there. Lo and behold, I found the following:
"Our results are consistent with the findings of Friedman and others1,2 that a runny nose not due to allergies, sinus problems or colds occurs more frequently in PD than non-PD subjects. We further extend these findings and demonstrate that both rhinorrhea due to any cause and non-rhinitic rhinorrhea are unrelated to severity of nigrostriatal dopaminergic activity, or olfactory and motor dysfunction in PD."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3010315/
Interestingly enough, in the last year and a half, it hasn't been that bad. Maybe due to being on PD medication? But back then I was blowing my nose constantly for months.
I also did some searching on PD and boils, but didn't turn up anything. I had a case of chronic boils. No sooner would one set go away than a new group would take their place. This went on from Feb. 2012 until May. I discovered that chronic boils were caused by a nasal infection. I had to convince my doc to prescribe me some antibiotics you spread in your nose with a q-tip. Within a month they were gone and didn't come back. But right on the heals of getting rid of the boils is when I noticed my first symptoms of PD.So I've always wondered if there was any connection, like PD caused the boils or even if they played any part in the onset of PD symptoms, or just pure coincidence. I may never know, but at least I have an answer on the runny nose link.
An abscess occurs as a result of the bodys immune system trying to fight off and localize an infection to a small area so that it does not spread to the rest of the body. People with Parkinsons disease, and especially those who are suffering from the end stages of Parkinsons disease, are more prone to infections. It is easy for a small infection to flare up or a tiny abscess to reach dangerous proportions because the ability of the body to fight infections is greatly reduced.
Abscess in Parkinsons Disease
A skin abscess (boil) is the most common form of abscess that is encountered, but abscesses may also occur in the internal organs, such as the liver, kidneys, appendix, brain or lungs. Tooth abscesses are fairly common and so are abscesses of the tonsils or its surrounding tissues.
Brer T
Yes, dopamine problems can affect a whole host of bodily functions.
But this study did find no link to the severity of PD symptoms and a runny nose, nor how PD affected the ability to smell. There is a definite link, but what that link is they don't know yet. Apparently once the level of dopamine goes below a certain level, it affects how well a person controls their sinuses, more than just smell. Loss of smell is one of many people's early symptoms of PD. It isn't too much of a reach to see how a runny nose could result from a dopamine drop.