My mother has Parkinson's and she gets easily discouraged from eating because her hands shake badly. What food will be easy for her to eat?

Wow thats a tougH one... lemmee see.... think think think...
easy... shaky.. heres an idea... I dont know if it would work or not. You know those braces they use, for folks that have had carpal tunnel surgery, I wonder if some sort of brace may assist her during meal times...man I cant think of anything beside a tippy cup or something. i WISH I knew something but I hope someone here will know... let me know how thinks work out..~nutz

I do not know about parkinson's nutritional needs or ability to swallow - but here is what I would eat if my hands shook too much and I wanted to feed myself.
I am not a picky eater so...

First off forget the spoon & fork with shaky hands - who cares, what is important is eating and enjoying it.

You can eat a lot of things with your hands and I think you can get the items to your mouth even if your hands shake if you don't have to balance them on a fork - large steamed vegetables brocoli, carrots, califlaur, aspagus spears -those fake sea legs that are good cold or hot, egg rolls, soup thru a straw, instant breakfast thru a straw, milk, juice thru a straw,
hamburgers? hot dogs? burritos, corn dogs, turkey, PB&J Sandwiches, hot pockets, toaster streudels (I love those fattening things!)
V8 juice thru a straw


anything you can manage without having to use a fork

This is a difficult problem.

I was visiting a few patients that were bedridden over the weekend. One lady had Parkinson's... she couldn't move her right arm and the left hand shook was uncontrollable.

I am sure she was fed. She could possibly drink shakes or runny yogurt, but I would be afraid of her choking on small pieces of food.

This was the first time I had visited anyone with Parkinson's. She was very alert and we had a nice discussion.

I was showing her some pictures and she was trying to reach for them with her hand. I helped her grasp the card and held her hand. I was surprised that her hand relaxed and didn't shake when I did this.

I thanked God again for all of my abilities on the way home.

Some times if you talk to a person with tremores it helps them to relax also I was thinking of poasted veggie I make fries in the oven you can cut the potatoes any size and put a little olive oil a on them and roast on a cookie sheet until nice and brown and they have lots of iron I have a friend with hand tremores and I will ask her how she manages maybe a dietician would know she may have to be fed but if you put things in front as lonf as she has no swolling problem she will probably pick what she can eat

I'd recommend a call to ABLEDATA (800/227-0216). Their information specialists have a comprehensive database of assistive technology tools for daily living, including eating and drinking. You can also search online at www.abledata.com, but I think and information specialist can help you sort through it all.

Go to elderstore.com. I ordered the forks,spoon set for my mom with parkinson.They bend so its easier for her to get it in her mouth. They've been a big help for us. Blessings,Nancy

My mom just uses her fingers when she has too hard a time with utensils. It works as long as the food is cut into small pieces.

At this Abledata, there is a Thomas Steady Arm that might help. It helps steady arm tremors so the person can eat, brush hair, etc.
That's a great site.

My mom, age 86, has Parkinson's but shakes very little. Her problem is that she is not able to get the spoon or fork into her mouth. Her movements are very slow and she freezes up into a position and doesn't move for sometimes 15 min. I unfortunately have to feed her. She has limited movement of her jaw and teeth. Every spoonful stays in her mouth for sometimes upto 30 minutes before she swallows. I have to agree to forget using fork and spoon. Soft foods are easier to swallow, foods that don't require chewing. Another thing I make sure I do, and I think this is important, is to always check to see that there is no food left in her mouth when she goes to bed or lies down. I actually use a wash cloth and wipe out the inside of her mouth. This eliminates any food that was caught in her cheek or palet that she hadn't swallowed. On many occasions I have removed food that if left could have resulted to choking. Unfortunately that is how my dad died. He aspirated on food he had in his mouth and fell asleep with.

CONCERNED:

Finger foods baby! Finger foods. In a small, square bowl, place bite size morsels she can grab quickly and put in her mouth. For drinks, use wide straws and sturdy glasses she can sip from without picking them up.

Fighting with her food is probably the most embarrassing thing she's going through right now -- especially when others are watching. So eat like she does every now and then, if only to lessen her embarrassment and have some fun. You'll love it.

-- ED