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My husband is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, he also is diagnosed with Marfan syndrome. Recently we have noticed this his eyes do not dilate when room gets dark. We know he has a cataract but the doctors cannot dilate his eyes either. Has anyone else ever had similar problems with Parkinson's disease? If so what was the plan of care?


Does anyone have suggestions for making the home safe at night when he needs to use the toilet, he is unable to make it to the light switch on the wall and regrettably or fortunately, not sure on this one, he does not wish to wake me up to assist him by turning on the light. He also can't find a flashlight in the dark, we have attached it to the rail on the bed, but again this isn't working as he can't see. I have a night light on in the bedroom, but the light is not enough for his vision. Does anyone have suggestions for lighting to prevent his running into walls or falling over something that cannot be physically moved?

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Amazon sells something called a Vansky motion-activated light that goes on when you put your feet over the side of the bed and onto the floor. I have no idea if this would be useful or not, but it might at least be worth reading about.
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There are battery operated lighting devices available to stick on walls as well as solar powered ones. I think placing these around the home is a good idea. Also, my dad uses a commode and a urinal next to his bed. This helps tremendously for safety.
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I bought some motion sensor lights and stuck them in different areas to guide him to the bathroom. they are 8" LED light bars. sticky back and magnetic you can stick the anywhere
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thingsarecrazy8 Jan 2020
Thank you. I have implemented the suggestion. It however looks like I will need to add more down the hallway.
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There are simple battery-operated motion activated night lights that you can stick on the wall in strategic places. The AAA batteries last for quite a long time as they aren't on for that long at a time. If the nightlight isn't enough, you could buy a bedside sized lamp with a dark fabric shade and put a 20W bulb in it. More light than a night light, but certainly better light to allow him to walk to the bathroom. I did this for my dad; it worked well for him.
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Have you thought about having an occupational therapist perform a home safety evaluation? The primary care phys8cian would need to give you a prescription so that the insurance will cover it. A home evaluation addresses such issues as lighting, things that may cause falls, and any safety hazards. The association for the visually impaired may have some ideas regarding lighting as well as other issues related to vision. I also would suggest discussing this with an opthamologist as well as the neurologist in terms of additional supports and information.
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My Papa has Parkinson’s and also has everything imaginable wrong with this eyes. He is almost blind at this point. He has a basket on his walker with a small maglite in there. He shuffles to the bathroom using it because the overhead light hurts his eyes.

What I really want to mention though is that Parkinson’s affects the muscles in the eyes as well as the rest of the body. His surgical ophthalmologist said the weakened muscles will make his vision blurry, which is his new complaint.

Would it be a problem to leave the bathroom light on all night? You could close the door a bit to angle the light if it shines on the bed.
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You might try a motion light that is used for outdoors. Find one where you can change sensitivity so you could make it come on if he actually sits up in bed instead of just rolling over. They have settings for how long it will stay on. Even if he is in the bathroom a while, when he reenters bedroom it will come on when you get it set correctly.
Instead of a bright flood light, use one of the bright LED or household lightbulbs.
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We had a light in our bathroom that went on whenever somebody entered the room. It was on a motion sensor, so whenever there was no movement it turned off. It was easy to install. A handy family member or friend could install one in every bathroom for you.
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There are motion sensor lights that you can use that would go on when he gets up. Some are just like regular bulbs that go into a socket.
If there is a bedside lamp one could be put there so when he got up it would go on and one could be placed on his way to the bathroom and in the bathroom. They would go off after a period of time. The lights are LED so they are a nice clean bright light.
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I’m not educated well on the Parkinson’s part as that diagnosis is newer for us. My father in law has Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. His night vision is horrible. We set up motion detectors that work with a smart plug to turn on the lamp in his bedroom. It’s is connected through an app called smart things. It’s not super expensive or hard to set up. But it has kept him from tripping on the step in there and from getting disoriented (at least so far).
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Sorry I can't be of help about the eyes, but my husband has Parkinson's and he, too, gets up at night fairly often to urinate. He does use a urinal at his bedside, but also sometimes goes to the close by master bath. We don't have motion sensor lights, but that's a very good idea. For the bedside, I found a bright LED portable light that he can turn on with just a tap. There are a lot of models of these, battery-operated. they can be stuck on surfaces, or just used as is on a table;; my husband has his on his walker whihc is always right by his bedside. Parkinson's often causes dry eyes because peoole with PD don't blink as much. Over the counter eye lubricants are good for that.
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thingsarecrazy8 Jan 2020
I got a touch lamp, will see of that works.
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Motion sensors? Or perhaps get him a urinal or bedside commode to use at night?
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You know, it’s so individual with Parkinson’s disease. Everyone has different symptoms. My mom has eye problems too. My mom also has Parkinson’s disease.

She says her glasses don’t even help her anymore. I don’t know if it’s normal aging or related to Parkinson’s.

Sorry, wish I could help more. Best I can say is continue to see an ophthalmologist and neurologist to help control the symptoms.

Best wishes to you and your family.
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