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Warning-sign checks

Pick's disease: when to get help

Go through these in order and stop at the first one that applies. If you are reading this for someone else, answer for them.

  1. 1

    Is any of this happening now?

    Call 911

    Call emergency services for:

    • Sudden facial drooping, one-sided weakness, or new speech difficulty
    • Choking with an inability to breathe or cough
    • A seizure lasting several minutes or repeated seizures without recovery
    • Loss of consciousness or a serious head injury
    • Behaviour creating immediate danger to the person or someone else
    • Suicidal actions or an immediate threat of self-harm
    Other emergency signs, for anyone
    • Someone who is struggling to breathe, gasping, choking, or cannot get words out
    • Someone who has chest pain, tightness or pressure lasting more than a few minutes
    • Someone who has sudden weakness or drooping on one side of the face or body, slurred speech, or sudden confusion
    • Someone who is unconscious, or cannot be woken
    • Someone who is bleeding heavily and it will not stop with firm pressure
    • Someone who has had a seizure that will not stop, or does not wake up afterwards
    • Someone who has lips or skin that look pale, blue, grey or blotchy
    • Someone who you believe has taken an overdose or swallowed something poisonous
  2. 2

    Is any of this happening?

    Be seen today

    Seek urgent same-day help for a sudden major change in alertness or behaviour, fever with worsening confusion, repeated falls, inability to swallow liquids, signs of dehydration, or a person who has wandered and cannot be found.

    A rapid change is not the expected course of Pick's disease and may have another cause.

  3. 3

    Does any of this apply?

    Book an appointment

    Arrange a routine medical assessment for gradual changes in personality, judgment, language, organisation, or social behaviour.

    These symptoms can have several causes, including treatable ones, and deserve a careful evaluation.

    During routine follow-up, report falls, weight change, coughing during meals, medication side effects, sleep disruption, wandering, or increasing difficulty with daily care.

Every sign above is quoted from the sofidex article on Pick's disease. If you are not sure, err upward — it is always reasonable to be checked.