Wet Brain from Alcohol: Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome WKS

However, it’s caused more by their poor diets than their alcoholic consumption. Therefore, people with other medical conditions can develop Korsakoff psychosis if they have an insufficient intake of thiamine. A brain scan may show evidence of wet brain, due to brain swelling from Wernicke encephalopathy; however, most doctors diagnose the condition by examining the list of symptoms. Treatment typically involves ingesting thiamine, either intravenously, intramuscularly, or orally, depending on how the person will best tolerate the vitamin.

What is Wernicke’s Encephalopathy?

The primary symptoms of Korsakoff’s psychosis are memory impairment and loss. The person is no longer able to form new memories in the later stages of the condition; they lose memories progressively as brain tissue is mush brain damaged over the course of the illness. Although Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome has a low prevalence of between 0.4 percent and nearly 3 percent, doctors believe this disease is frequently misdiagnosed or underreported.

Addiction and Mental Health Resources

A failure to diagnose this syndrome leads to death in 20 percent of cases, and long-term brain damage in 75 percent. Most people consume enough thiamine to prevent the development of this condition. However, people who struggle with alcohol use disorder may focus on consuming alcohol instead of eating a balanced diet, with whole grains and lean proteins. In other cases, alcohol can upset the stomach and the person may experience loss of appetite, or vomiting, which can reduce sources of thiamine.

The Symptoms of Wet Brain – What Are They?

Hospital emergency rooms are full of people who have made mushy-brained mistakes. In the waiting room you will find exhausted parents with dropped babies, exhausted chefs with sliced fingers and exhausted motorists with air-bag blackened eyes. If you need help, just hope your doctor isn’t at the end of an epic shift and feeling mushy-brained themself. While some effects of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome may be permanent, the best way to avoid further damage is to stop drinking safely, with professional help, and to embrace a life in recovery.

Strategies for Alleviating Brain Fog

• It is an essential vitamin that is not produced naturally by your body, so it must be consumed from outside sources.
• So, what—exactly—is a “wet brain?” According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is really two different disorders.
• Wet brain can progress in a specific pattern, or both Wernicke encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s syndrome can develop together.

The good news—if caught early enough—is that wet brain syndrome is a preventable, treatable disease if you stop drinking and seek help. Intense thiamine replacement therapy and abstinence from alcohol can result in a noticeable improvement in both mental and physical functioning https://ecosoberhouse.com/ within weeks. In most cases, symptoms of Korsakoff syndrome are preceded by symptoms of Wernicke encephalopathy. When an alcoholic suffers an acute lack of vitamin B1 too rapidly, the onset of Wernicke encephalopathy may be severe enough to demand emergency medical attention.

• Group and family therapy help to build new relationships and rebuild existing relationships, so the individual has additional support once they leave the program.
• The best process for most people is to get professional help to safely detox from alcohol and then progress into a complete rehabilitation program.
• Researchers have studied the effects of abstinence on the brains of alcohol-dependent individuals by comparing subjects recovering from years of alcohol abuse with those who do not drink or drink minimally.
• Rigorous psychedelic drug trials are notoriously difficult to conduct, because participants know whether they are hallucinating.

Early Symptoms of Wet Brain

How to Identify What’s Causing Your Brain Fog

How much can the brain recover from years of excessive alcohol consumption?

• Around 20 million people in the U.S. struggle with substance use disorder.
• The more a person uses their brain, the better their mental functions become.
• If left untreated, the damage can progress to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a potentially life-threatening condition.
• They’ll also have a greater likelihood of avoiding serious medical and psychological complications from alcoholism.
• A lot of the brain is even active when a person is resting or sleeping.