Each of us knows the effects of alcohol on the human body – difficulty walking, slurred speech, blurred vision, increased reaction time, memory gaps.
All of these symptoms begin soon after you have drunk more alcohol and go away after a few minutes or hours. But how does alcohol affect our body in the long run?
B is a very important vitamin
Heavy and long-term drinking of alcohol causes deficits in the brain, which may continue long after sobering up. Common in alcoholics, resulting from poor nutrition, vitamin B deficiency1 (thiamine) leads to an acute complex of neurological symptoms known as Wernicki’s syndrome.
Vitamin B1 is an essential nutrient for all tissues. The recommended daily dose is 1,2 mg for men and 1,1 mg for women. The sources of this vitamin are meat, whole grains, nuts, beans and peas.
Characteristic symptoms
Wernicki’s syndrome most often manifests itself:
— nystagmus,
— double vision (resulting from paralysis of the nerves responsible for moving the eyeballs),
— ataxia, i.e. incoherence of movements,
— emotional and intellectual degradation,
— disturbances of consciousness: confusion, agitation or, on the contrary: apathy, coma,
— confabulations, deliriums,
— insomnia, anxiety,
— a fear of the dark that has never existed before.
Typical for patients suffering from Wernicke’s syndrome is, for example, not being able to find a way out of the room, or even losing the ability to walk. The characteristic symptoms also include: sensory disturbances in the extremities, neuralgia and muscle pain. In extreme cases, paresis or even paralysis may occur. Involuntary movements also appear frequently.
Treatment
The mainstay of therapy for Wernicki’s syndrome is supplementation of vitamin B deficiency1. Sometimes it is necessary to administer magnesium simultaneously. With proper treatment, most symptoms disappear in a short time. However, this does not apply to: ataxia, nystagmus and sometimes peripheral neuropathy. It may take a few days or weeks for these symptoms to go away. Wernicki’s syndrome, if left untreated or accompanied by extensive changes in the brain, can lead to the development of psychosis (Korsakoff’s psychosis).
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