Alcohol is common at many of our society’s get-togethers and special occasions. From backyard picnics with family and friends where beer, burgers, and besties share the day to elegant weddings with champagne toasts, alcohol is present. Serving alcohol at functions with responsible adults is an accepted part of our lives and doesn’t present any special challenges for most. But for a segment of the population who has issues with alcohol addiction, the dangers of overconsumption are real.
You may have heard of wet brain syndrome or Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, which is a problem that can develop when someone is a chronic alcoholic. With chronic alcohol consumption comes nutritional deficiency. Neurological issues are abundant with a deficit of essential vitamins and minerals.
In particular, vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, is not stored in the body and must be gained through nutrition or supplementation. When thiamine is deficient, the result is disastrous, with a possible outcome being wet brain syndrome, causing several dangerous conditions.
A One-Two Punch
Wet brain syndrome is a combination of conditions known as Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and Korsakoff Psychosis. These two issues combine to form Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, commonly called wet brain syndrome.
Chronic alcoholics also have trouble with digestion and absorption and can quickly become vitamin deficient. With Wernicke’s encephalopathy, neurological symptoms are caused by being deficient in vitamin B1, which in turn allows lesions to form in various parts of the brain.
While Wernicke’s syndrome takes hold with brain lesions, the second stage of wet brain begins with Korsakoff’s psychosis taking hold with symptoms such as memory loss, confusion, and behavioral changes. Korsakoff’s psychosis combined with the Wernicke, as mentioned above encephalopathy, now becomes the dreaded Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome.
Wet Brain – Common Symptoms
The brain is the command module for your body, sitting in the driver’s seat of your central nervous system. With a wet brain, the damage is displayed with symptoms characteristic of many other disease processes, such as lack of coordination and deficient fine motor skills. Lack of balance and repeated falls are indications of poor motor coordination.
Confusion and memory loss are other symptoms that are commonly seen with brain damage caused by wet brain syndrome. Reduced comprehension makes it challenging to follow conversations with others, and subsequent mood swings can make social interaction difficult.
Along with cognitive issues, physical disorders such as changes to core body temperature and heart rates can lead to medical emergencies with cardiac issues and problems encompassing the central nervous system. There is a long list of potential health ailments, from vision disturbances, hallucinations, and possible coma, which may result in death.
Treatment Is Available
Aside from alcohol abuse, there are medical conditions that are attributed to Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, such as aging, malnutrition cases, AIDS, and patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis. In some cases, it is possible to recover from wet brain syndrome depending on the severity of the problem and how quickly treatment was started. Treatment consists of hydration therapy and oral or intravenous infusion of vitamin B1 to replace the deficiency promptly.