Top 8 Symptoms of Beriberi!
The Main Symptoms of Beriberi that everyone should be aware of. In addition, Beriberi is considered a disease that leaves the person weak and depending on the stage it presents, it can be fatal, in rare cases. Being caused by the lack of vitamin B1 (thiamine) in the body, caused mainly by a series of nervous, cardiac and brain changes.
When the body has a deficiency of this vitamin , Beriberi appears. This disease is rare in developed countries, where most foods are enriched with the necessary vitamins . So, check out The Top 8 Symptoms of Beriberi:
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Beriberi Symptoms: Symptoms can take two to three months to manifest. There are two types of Beriberi : cardiac, also called wet, which is manifested by tachypnea (rapid breathing) after physical exercise, tachycardia, apnea (waking up breathless) and swollen legs; and the nervous or dry one that has muscle weakness, loss of sensation in the feet and hands, pain, difficulty speaking, vomiting, mental confusion, involuntary eye movements, paralysis, and nerve changes that begin with a tingling sensation in the toes , becoming particularly intense at night, calf muscle cramps, and pain in the legs and feet. In more severe cases, the disease can progress to Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome.
- loss of appetite
- Tiredness
- Irritability
- Muscle aches
- pain in limbs
- joint swelling
- hand paralysis
- foot paralysis
- Heart problems
Causes of Beriberi: Beriberi is caused by a lack of vitamin B1 (thiamine) in the body. One of the causes of vitamin B1 deficiency is the inhibition of its absorption by the fungus Penicillium citreonigrum, but other enzymes, found in river fish, can also cause a similar deficiency.
In general, vitamin B1 deficiencies are due to a diet lacking sources of this vitamin , low absorption of it by the intestine, prolonged diarrhea or hyperthyroidism, pregnancy and fever.
Diagnosis of Beriberi: A physical exam may show signs of Beriberi through: changes in gait, problems with hand-eye coordination, decreased reflexes and drooping eyelids. Blood tests can directly measure the concentration of vitamin B1 in the blood, a urinalysis can reveal whether the problem is malabsorption or a lack of the vitamin .
Treatment of Beriberi: Treatment consists of administering vitamin B1 in a dose higher than the recommended daily dose for 2 to 3 days. Subsequently, the vitamin is administered orally until the complete remission of the symptoms of the disease.
The intensity of the treatment depends on the patient’s condition, if the disease is in an advanced stage, it is recommended to administer doses of vitamin B1 in an amount 10 times greater than the recommended daily dose for 3 days.
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This vitamin is not toxic, so it can be ingested whenever you want, and your body will only use the amount it needs. The high consumption indicated in cases of Beriberi is only to circumvent cases where there is insufficient use of the vitamin , such as when the patient is unable to absorb it properly.