As fall arrives with cooler and wetter weather, I was wondering how this seasonal change might affect my husband’s symptoms. What will I need to do to care for him? I began my search with Google and was directed to a blog on a sharing platform called “Patients Like Me” where I found an article written by someone with Parkinson’s Disease. They shared information they had found on this topic, information that I found somewhat surprising. It appears that seasonal challenges can be as varied and unique as everything else about this complex diagnosis. Continuing my search, I found articles on the American Parkinson’s Disease Association and National Institute of Health websites that said essentially the same thing.

There have only been a few studies on how seasonal weather impacts someone with PD and the results, so far, are inconclusive. One study found no real impacts, another found that spring and summer could be most challenging thanks to allergies and other nasal complications. Another study noted an increased need for PD meds during winter months, hinting at greater challenges at that time of year to control the symptoms, perhaps due to shorter daylight hours or lowered activity levels due to inclement weather. One shared conclusion was that a person with PD functions best when the outside temperature is moderate, extreme cold or heat can be very difficult to manage.

So, my takeaway is that I don’t know how upcoming seasonal changes will impact my husband. I do know that I need to regulate the temperatures in our home and make sure he is well bundled when we go out. I can make sure that our home is well lit during the darker and shorter days of fall and winter. Otherwise, I will simply watch and try to be ready for whatever happens.

If you are interested in learning more, here are the webpages I mentioned above- Everything You Need to Know About the Weather and Parkinson’s Disease (patientslikeme.com); How Geography, Altitude, & Cold Weather Affect Parkinson’s (apdaparkinson.org); Quality of life: Seasonal fluctuation in Parkinson’s disease – PMC (nih.gov)