What Is Wet Brain?- Signs and Symptoms of Wet Brain
There are a number of health risks that come with alcohol consumption. While someone moderating their intake may not experience many of the drastic health effects of alcohol, excessive and frequent use of alcohol can lead to a number of detrimental effects. One of these is Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, also known as “wet brain.” Addressing wet brain is a difficult task and it can have very serious, lifelong effects on someone’s brain. There are a number of different ways that someone can try to mitigate or slow down the progression of wet brain, but it requires immediate cessation from alcohol. This can be very difficult as someone who suffers from wet brain likely developed it as a result of an unchecked addiction to alcohol. However, there are still options available for those who suspect that they or a loved one may be exhibiting the signs of developing wet brain.
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome?
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, or wet brain, is a serious and detrimental result of excessive alcohol intake. It manifests as a result of the lack of a vitamin known as thiamine in the body that often comes as a result of poor dietary choices, which are aided by a person’s excessive and frequent alcohol intake. As this vitamin deficiency takes its toll all over the body, it eventually starts damaging the brain itself and can cause extensive damage even to the neuroreceptors in their brain.
What is Signs and Symptoms of Wet Brain?
Some of the signs of wet brain are most commonly :
- Confusion,
- Lack of control over one’s muscles and coordination
- Problems recalling memories or creating new memories
- Coma or death in extreme circumstances
These symptoms are not to be taken lightly and are made worse with continued use of alcohol. Genetic components can create a dangerous predisposition for developing wet brain; however, excessive use of alcohol can cause it to manifest in anyone. There is no guaranteed way to prevent wet brain aside from avoiding alcohol altogether or vehemently moderating one’s intake. After symptoms of wet brain have begun to set in, they can be very difficult to reverse, if possible at all. However, it is important that someone immediately stops their alcohol intake when suspecting symptoms of wet brain and seeks medical and professional help for their condition and addiction to alcohol.
What to Do When Suspecting the Onset of Wet Brain
It is important to immediately seek medical help for the symptoms of wet brain, as well as find a place to detox the body and begin an addiction recovery program. While there may be no cure for wet brain, there are ways to help slow down its progression. There are certain medications that can be used to help someone regain thiamine intake, but that doesn’t mean that many of the symptoms can be reversed. Wet brain is permanent damage to the body. While reversing effects can be difficult, it is very important to slow the progression through the use of medical treatment as well as professional help in addiction recovery.
Knowledge of wet brain and early prevention are the best ways to mitigate the effects of wet brain on someone’s life. The earlier that someone can suspect the development of wet brain in themselves or others, the better chance of mitigating much of the permanent damage that can be caused by wet brain.
Wet Brain Isn’t the Only Sign of a Problem
Wet brain itself isn’t the only negative result of alcohol usage. While wet brain can be fairly rare, that doesn’t mean that it is impossible, nor does it mean that there aren’t other negative health effects tied to one’s use of drugs or alcohol. Developing a dependency or addiction to alcohol or drugs can have many harmful effects, not just on the brain, but on one’s overall health, and it can even affect social relationships and occupational paths. Rather, wet brain is the result of an untreated and dangerous amount of alcohol intake, and the symptoms outlined by wet brain need to be addressed immediately.
Addressing the early signs of wet brain, or even the early signs of addiction or a problematic relationship with drugs or alcohol, can be the best bet for someone to be able to reverse the physical and emotional damage that can come with the persistent usage of drugs or alcohol. Seeking professional help is necessary in order to help each person address their relationships with addictive substances before they can develop into irreversible damage to the brain, liver, or various other aspects of a person’s life.
The damage caused by alcohol and drugs to the body can be severe if someone doesn’t get the medical and emotional support they need in order to address their addiction. If you or a loved one are struggling with an addiction to drugs or alcohol, Alta Centers can help. By providing a comfortable, luxurious place to take your first step in sobriety, Alta Centers can individualize a detox plan for you to help you get through the difficult times in recovery while instilling skills and strategies that will be most important to your recovery journey. Alta Centers prides itself on establishing an inclusive and fun way to experience life in sobriety and highlights the good times in life that can be found when free of drugs and alcohol. For more information on how Alta Centers can help you, or to schedule an intake, call today to speak to one of our professionally trained staff members at (888) 202-2583.