What is Wet Brain? Stages, Signs & Causes
Because WKS shares some symptoms with other neurological and psychiatric conditions, doctors carefully consider other possibilities before confirming a diagnosis of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. They want to make sure they’re giving you the right support and treatment. This often includes looking at your past health and habits to piece everything together. Some people have genetic predispositions to alcoholism while others use alcohol to heal trauma or in combination with other drugs. Despite the reason, patterns of heavy drinking can result in dangerous, life-threatening complications. When a person has developed an alcohol use disorder (AUD), they begin to exhibit a variety of behaviors that have a negative mush brain impact on their health and personal and professional lives.
What Are the Early Signs of Alcohol Dementia?
- Wet brain can progress and become a serious and in some cases, life-threatening disorder.
- The consequences of thiamine deficiency manifest in the symptoms of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which include confusion, memory loss, and coordination problems.
- This variability in symptom manifestation further complicates the diagnosis process.
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is challenging to overcome but possible to achieve with professional help and ongoing support, such as at a treatment center where you can safely detox under supervised care. The most effective way to prevent wet brain is to avoid alcohol addiction. If you need help with your drinking, talk to someone about addiction treatment today.
Can Wet Brain Cause Dementia?
- Wet brain syndrome is a form of dementia that primarily affects chronic, long-term alcoholics at the end stages of their disease.
- Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) is one name for two conditions that often happen together — Wernicke encephalopathy and Korsakoff syndrome.
- One of the most common goals of wet brain treatment is to manage symptoms and to help prevent the condition from worsening.
- The danger is that when this kind of drinking becomes more and more frequent, it turns into an alcohol addiction.
- Stopping alcohol use when the body and brain are dependent on alcohol can result in death.
It’s important to understand these so you can get help if you need it. WKS often starts with Wernicke’s encephalopathy, which has a few key signs. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism define binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that raises a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08%.
- At this point, people who have spent years drinking may have developed numerous health and mental conditions in addition to their alcohol abuse.
- Wet brain is not believed to be curable; however, with early detection and treatment, some of the effects may be reversible.
- Your recovery will depend mostly on how early you started treatment.
- Due to the severity of these symptoms, it is crucial that Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome is detected early on so that treatment can begin immediately.
What’s the Connection Between Alcohol and Wet Brain?
In the united states, alcohol abuse is the leading cause of thiamine deficiency. If you or someone you know exhibits signs of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, such as confusion, memory loss, or difficulty with coordination, it is crucial to seek medical attention promptly. Early intervention with intravenous thiamine injections, along with lifestyle changes like an improved diet and abstinence from alcohol, can increase the chances of recovery and improve overall outcomes. Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome (WKS) is a severe neurological disorder that primarily affects individuals who have a history of chronic alcohol abuse.
As such, we recommend that the term “wet brain” be avoided in favor of the more accurate “Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.” For heavy drinkers, these seemingly innocent memory lapses can evolve to slurred speech, an unsteady walk, violent muscle twitches or hallucinations, signaling alcohol-induced brain damage. If left untreated, the damage can progress to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a potentially life-threatening condition. Wernicke-Koraskoff syndrome is irreversible so the alcoholic will need to develop new behavioral patterns in order to function. Wet brain recovery requires an extended stay in a residential treatment center to give ample time for the alcoholic to learn new life skills. Family and friends continue to play an important role in recovery during this time.