Beriberi numbness

Doctor Tran Thanh Tam

Beriberi Beriberi is a malnutrition that causes the following diseases: edema accompanied by heart failure, neuritis, disease in children, caused by vitamin B1 deficiency. The disease is common in countries that use rice as the main food, in our country, the disease is still circulated especially in the period of grain border, after flooding, in the localities eating milled rice thoroughly, so that it has been in poor quality for a long time. substances but poor complementary foods: meat, fish, eggs, milk . Lack of vitamin B1 in the case is also seen in alcoholics, malnourished children .

What are the symptoms?

Initially, patients often do not know they are sick because the disease starts with discreet symptoms: first, it can be found poorly, uncomfortable, difficult to walk because of weak and heavy legs, sometimes with slight edema on the face, preoperative regional pain, pain in the leg muscles and numbness in the limbs. This period takes place for a long time, although the labor force seems normal but the productivity is poor, every activity is less dynamic than before. The disease tends to move to the heavier bodies as follows:

Edema due to lack of vitamin B1 is edema from the feet up and always symmetrical on both sides.(Photo: Bact.wisc.edu)

- Wet body : Edema is the main manifestation, edema may appear quickly not only in the limbs but also in the face, body and serous cavities. Characteristics to note in edema due to lack of vitamin B1 are edema from the feet up and always symmetrical on both sides. It is possible that patients feel palpitations and difficulty breathing, poor eating and slow digestion. The legs often hurt when walking, the calf muscles often swell and press on the pain. The neck veins often emerge and bang hard, hot skin due to vasodilation. When there is an expression of heart failure, the skin is cold and pale, the face green. The examination has symptoms: electrocardiography is usually constant when there is a low voltage, T waves are in the opposite direction, the largest heart is on the right, there is no albuminuria, normal patient spirit. Progressive disease may be severe, heart failure, shortness of breath and death.

- Dry body : Symptoms of inflammation and multiple paralysis of peripheral nerves manifest as symmetrical weakness or loss of sensation, decreased mobility and limb reflexes. Many muscles become atrophied and weakened, walking becomes difficult. The body of the patient was worn out, at first he had to stand with a cane but then he could not walk. The disease is long-lasting and can relieve symptoms when the diet is full of nutrients. If left untreated, the patient gradually deteriorates, becomes bedridden and is very susceptible to infections, sometimes the patient dies due to severe infections .

- Child Beriberi : Common in infants who are still breastfed for 2-5 months. Although the mother may not have a clinical manifestation, but ate a poor diet of vitamin B1, breast milk also lacks vitamin B1. If the child has an acute illness with rapid heart failure, the child is restless and has symptoms of dyspnea, which can suddenly become cyanotic, convulsive, lethargic and die within 1-2 days. Severe cases may experience partial or complete loss of speech, a weak moan. The form of the show was less common, mainly found that children with gastrointestinal disorders: vomiting, persistent constipation, sleeplessness, very poor eating. The limb muscles often flabby, reducing muscle tone. The skin is pale and often cyanotic around the lips. Children may have heart failure and death or death from severe infections such as pneumonia .

- Wernicke-korsakoff syndrome : A common neurological-mental syndrome in alcoholic patients with severe and prolonged vitamin B1 deficiency. The muscles in the face are weak, the patient has difficulty seeing up or looking to the side, sometimes disoriented and tired, sometimes the eye suffers from nystagmus and unsteady people. Mental manifestations are often a serious reduction in memory and learning but other thinking processes are less affected. Sometimes the patient forgets what happened during the day but makes up for the past.

How to vet?

If deformity has been identified, treatment should be started as soon as possible. Patients need complete rest; You can use the following medicines: inject vitamin B1 25mg twice daily, for 3 days, then give 10mg vitamin B1 dose two or three times a day until recovery. Besides, there must be adequate nutrition to gradually reduce the amount of medicine.

Food rich in vitamin B1.(Photo: Nytimes)

For children for intramuscular vitamin B1 dose of 10-20mg / day for 3 days; then give vitamin B1 dose 5-10mg twice daily. Also give the mother a dose of 10mg vitamin B1 twice a day.

Prevention

Every day rice is an important source of vitamin B1, so be careful not to over-mill, too white and to preserve good rice so that it does not moisten. Add foods rich in vitamin B1 in your daily diet, especially legumes, vegetables, beans, meat, fish, eggs, milk.

Propagating mothers in pregnancy and lactation need to eat enough food to prevent vitamin B1 deficiency. For areas after flooding, grain borders can supplement vitamin B1 in the daily diet. Prevention of alcoholism among adolescents and hard workers.