Wet Brain: What Is Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome? FHE Health
While wet brain is not something that can be cured, doctors can reverse some of the symptoms or at least slow the progression of the disorder if they can intervene quickly enough. Certain aspects of the condition can be helped with medication and treatment, while issues with memory loss are typically permanent. Early intervention in cases of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is the most effective for reversing course and saving someone’s life. People who exhibit signs of wet brain need to seek treatment for alcoholism and achieve and maintain sobriety to prevent and minimize the occurrence of permanent brain damage. Thiamine deficiency is strongly linked to the brain syndrome known as Wernicke Korsakoff syndrome or “wet brain.” It is mostly developed as a result of alcohol abuse.
Signs and Symptoms of Wernicke Encephalopathy
Feeling mentally drained happens to everyone from time to time, especially when experiencing sleeping difficulties. But brain fog is not the same as fatigue or lethargy, although they often go hand in hand or co-occur with symptoms of other conditions. Brain fog can be hard to define since it is not a medical term or diagnosis. Fortunately, when an alcoholic wet brain is still in this first stage, it is treatable if addressed immediately with intravenous thiamine. Treatment must occur at this acute stage, and in a hospital to monitor for adverse reactions.
How Serious Is Wet Brain?
- That’s what we offer to clients at the Discovery Institute for Addictive Disorders in New Jersey.
- In addition, the withdrawal symptoms of alcohol abuse include nausea and vomiting, which further drains fundamental vitamins and minerals from the body.
- The Alzheimer’s Society states that “wet brain” may afflict about two per cent of the general population.
- Once they’ve been discharged from the hospital, patients should continue the regimen of taking oral thiamine and other recommended vitamin supplements.
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 within weeks. Korsakoff psychosis, also called Korsakoff syndrome, is the late stage of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. This stage of wet brain results in permanent brain damage that cannot be treated. While Korsakoff psychosis is less likely to cause a coma or death than Wernicke encephalopathy, it is a form of brain damage that will normally require someone to be constantly taken care of.
Wet Brain Syndrome: Understanding the Consequences of Long-Term, Untreated Alcoholism
People who are struggling to end substance use and dependence and cope with the symptoms of mental health disorders in their lives can get the help they need through a dual diagnosis program. While the most prevalent cause of Wet brain may be constant alcohol abuse, anorexia, and many other dysfunctions that drain thiamine may also be the reason for its development. The active introduction of glucose to a brain that is deficient in thiamine may also cause a wet brain. Alcoholism causes thiamine deficiencies over a prolonged period of time because alcohol reduces the body’s ability to absorb thiamine through the gastrointestinal tract. Over time, the body will absorb less thiamine as the result of excessive alcohol consumption.
Can You Reverse Wet Brain?
How life with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome continues depends on how severely someone is affected by the disease and wet brain symptoms. Importantly, they may be able to live on their own with assistance from their caregivers or home health aides. “Mush brain,” “mush brain alcohol” and “wet brain” are unfamiliar terms to many people. While unsettling, the words are memorable short descriptors of a disease that can affect long-term alcoholics at some point in the trajectory of their addiction.
What Does Wet Brain Feel Like?
The amygdala is far less concerned with subtlety and far more concerned with survival. 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.
Brain Mush: Causes, Symptoms, and Solutions for Mental Fog
Inpatient rehab is an intensive, residential treatment program that provides patients with 24/7 care and support in a safe and structured environment. We also offer medical detoxification for alcoholism, a critical component of treatment for alcoholism, as the withdrawal symptoms can be severe and potentially life-threatening. Our medical team closely monitors patients during detox mush brain meaning and provides medication and other interventions as needed to ensure their comfort and safety. Wet brain syndrome is a form of dementia that primarily affects chronic, long-term alcoholics at the end stages of their disease. The illness is formally known as Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, and it occurs in two separate stages.
These physical changes to the brain can impact other areas of the body as well. The sooner you can recognize symptoms and receive appropriate treatment, the sooner you can stop the progression of the syndrome and greatly lower your chances of experiencing irreversible side effects. The key to treating wet brain is to receive treatment as soon as possible. If you know someone who abuses alcohol or you need help yourself, The Recovery Village at Palmer Lake can help. Our facility offers comprehensive Sober living house treatment programs for each client’s unique needs. Take the first step toward recovery, and speak with a representative of The Recovery Village at Palmer Lake today.
