The impact of drooling on the lives of people with Parkinson's disease.

PURPOSE: This study explored the social, emotional, and physical impacts that drooling, also referred to as sialorrhea, has on the lives of people with Parkinson's disease.

METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 people with Parkinson's disease. Ages ranged from 51-85 years, and their self-reported drooling severities were varied. A thematic analysis of interview transcripts was conducted.

RESULT: Drooling was exacerbated by both situational and emotional factors and had a significant impact on many aspects of participants' lives. Drooling impacted emotion, perceptions of self, others' perceptions, activities and participation, and relationships. The relationship between these impacts was complex. A lack of suitable treatment options and management strategies were discussed and the health professional support provided for drooling was reported to be lacking or not useful.

CONCLUSION

This study indicates that drooling has a significant emotional, social, and physical impact on the lives of people with Parkinson's disease. Therefore, speech-language pathologists should include managing drooling in their treatment plan for swallowing difficulties related to Parkinson's disease. The lack of suitable treatment options warrants the need for further research into more holistic and sustainable treatment options for drooling.