A senior neurologist has called for "simple kindness and old-fashioned manners" after a survey revealed the frequent rudeness experienced by people with Parkinson’s disease in public.
Often victims of the disease are treated as drunk and sometimes they face laughter and jeering because of their symptoms, according to survey.
Charity Parkinson’s UK said as many as 69,000 people may have suffered these problems.
Victims reported feeling intimidated, invisible and inferior after facing ill-mannered reactions in public.
Some 32% reported being stared at while 25% said they had been accused of being drunk.
This leads to many people staying at home and feeling "trapped," the charity reported.
The study involved some 2,140 people with Parkinson’s who took part in an on-line survey by pollsters YouGov, conducted for Parkinson’s Awareness Week this week.
The charity’s clinical director Professor David Burn, a consultant neurologist, said: “It’s a situation where simple kindness and old-fashioned manners can actually have a life-changing impact on people with Parkinson’s. Understanding, patience and empathy can make the difference to someone with Parkinson’s as to whether they feel imprisoned in their own home, or confident to go out in public.”
He added: “It’s devastating to see the added burden thoughtless reactions from the public are having on people with Parkinson’s.
"Patients I see in the clinic are already battling a myriad of neurological symptoms including anxiety, depression and insomnia. The last thing they need is to feel like a zoo exhibit when they step out of their front door."
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