Hi, Just looking for advice regarding aspiration and treatment of it.
My sister and I care for our elderly mother who has late stage parkinson’s. Over the past year or so, mum suffers from aspiration and phlegm build-up. This can be bought on by eating or drinking, or just swallowing saliva. Sometimes it gets so bad she cannot breathe and we have to call the community nurse / doctor out and they give her an injection to help disperse the phlegm. We have tried everything - steaming, saline nasal sprays, patting back, putting on her side, cough mixture, catargh pastilles, vicks, swallowing prompt apps etc. Sometimes she can be suffering from this for 4 hours or more and at 87 that is exhausting. Is there anything else we can try or will will be looking at feeding tubes next? She is on carbocisteine for the phlegm. Appreciate any advice. Thank you.
We’re very sorry to hear all of this. Our forum members may be able to offer you some peer to peer advice on this. But till then, we have a resource on our website which may help here: Eating, swallowing and managing saliva | Parkinson's UK - and we would definitely recommend raising this again with her Parkinson’s professional.
Catflap hi, How very worrying these symptoms are especially when they go on for a long time. Fluids are very important, if you can encourage your lovely mother to drink as much as possible it will help to clear some of the phlegm and make the actual phlegm less sticky.
You can get small sponges on sticks, used a lot in palliative care so should be available through your GP surgery. They are really useful as they are safe to use to clear the mouth and rinse around her gums and teeth, anything else is likely to break up in her mouth and be more hassle than help.
It is a terrible problem and very common as people get less mobile and tend to drink less and swallowing becomes more of a problem, have you seen a Speech and Language therapist? This is one of their speciality areas and their input would be great, do try to get one along to see your mother and assess what can help her now and in the future.
Look after yourself, and I hope that you find some better coping mechanisms to help you all. Cheers Jo
Thank you for getting in touch, we’re really sorry to hear what your mum is going through. Aspiration and mucus build-up are sadly common in the later stages of Parkinson’s, and it’s clear you’re doing everything you can to support her.
Please don’t hesitate to call our free Parkinson’s UK helpline on 0808 800 0303. Our advisers, including specialist nurses, can talk through your mum’s symptoms and possible next steps in more detail. You’re not alone in this.