How Long-Term Alcohol Abuse Leads to Wet Brain

Alcohol dependence can have an extremely corrosive effect on a person’s life. Not only will long-term alcohol abuse cause mental distress, legal issues, and relationship problems, but it can also result in several severe medical conditions. Wet brain is one of the worst health effects of long-term alcohol dependence, and in many cases, this condition is lethal. You don’t want your loved one to develop a deadly neurological condition as a result of their drinking, so keep reading to learn more about wet brain and how to prevent it with professional addiction treatment.

What Is Wet Brain?

Wet brain is the colloquial term for Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which is a combination of Wernicke’s encephalopathy and Korsakoff’s psychosis. Wernicke’s encephalopathy results from a chronic lack of thiamin in the diet, which eventually causes lesions in the patient’s brain. Alcohol inhibits the absorption of thiamin, so this condition primarily affects individuals who struggle with severe alcohol dependence. Symptoms include confusion, poor coordination, hallucinations, and poor memory.

Doctors treat Wernicke’s encephalopathy by giving the patient thiamin and limiting their alcohol intake. However, while treating Wernicke’s encephalopathy will prevent brain lesions from worsening, Korsakoff’s psychosis is almost inevitable once lesions are present. Patients who suffer from Korsakoff’s psychosis typically experience chronic vision problems, low blood pressure, poor muscle coordination, hypothermia, confusion, and other serious symptoms. The memory loss and hallucinations associated with Korsakoff’s psychosis are much more severe than with Wernicke’s encephalopathy, and individuals with Korsakoff’s psychosis are often completely unable to form new memories.

Does Wet Brain Affect All Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder?

Wet brain primarily affects individuals with long-term alcohol dependence who consume very little thiamin. Wet brain occurs in up to 14% of individuals who chronically drink. Although wet brain does not affect every individual who struggles with alcohol dependence, chronic alcohol consumption still greatly increases a person’s odds of developing this serious condition, so it is a good reason to quit drinking.

Is Wet Brain the Same as Dementia?

While wet brain causes dementia symptoms, it is distinct from other conditions that cause dementia. Dementia is not a singular disease. Instead, it is a medical classification of symptoms that occur with many neurological conditions. Dementia symptoms include disorientation, poor communication, memory loss, diminished spatial awareness, difficulty performing complex tasks, and other markers of poor cognition. On top of those symptoms, patients who suffer from dementia often struggle with agitation, paranoia, anxiety, and other psychological issues.

Is Wet Brain Reversible?

Wernicke’s encephalopathy is reversible with thiamin injections and drastic lifestyle changes. However, unless doctors can identify and treat Wernicke’s encephalopathy in its earliest stages, patients are likely to develop Korsakoff’s psychosis to some degree. Korsakoff’s psychosis is not completely reversible, but early detection and treatment will result in milder symptoms. Although wet brain is not usually reversible, the disease is preventable, so it’s extremely important to urge your loved one to seek professional addiction treatment before wet brain can set in.

Why Is an Addiction Treatment Program a Patient’s Best Option?

Alcoholism is a very serious disease that can cause several serious issues in a person’s life. For a person who struggles with alcohol dependence, every day presents a new set of dangerous risks. However, although most individuals who struggle with alcohol addiction know how bad it is for them, achieving sobriety can be incredibly difficult.

When someone tries to quit drinking without professional help, they face several daily challenges that threaten their sobriety. First and foremost, alcohol is almost everywhere, and most people have many friends and family members who drink. On top of that, a person’s loved ones may not be supportive of their efforts to overcome their drinking habit, making it much harder to abstain. Finally, the nearest liquor store is usually a short drive away, which can be a big temptation when detox symptoms start to kick in.

A good addiction treatment program eliminates these factors so that patients aren’t tempted to relapse during the most difficult stages of the recovery process. With several qualified doctors and skilled therapists on hand, addiction treatment centers provide all of the medical care, guidance, and emotional support that a patient needs on their journey towards sobriety. When you convince your loved one to enroll in a reputable treatment program, you are giving them everything that they need to succeed in their recovery.

What Is Detox?

When a person regularly consumes alcohol, their body becomes reliant on it and adjusts its regular functions to accommodate the substance. Consequently, when there is no more alcohol in the system, the body has to work hard to readjust to an alcohol-free environment. This process is known as detoxification, and it results in severe symptoms that can persist for weeks or months after a person’s last drink. Common symptoms include migraines of varying intensity, irregular body temperature, mood swings, excess sweating, gastrointestinal problems, muscle spasms, feelings of hopelessness, and severe aches and pains.

Detox isn’t only extremely uncomfortable, but patients also have a high risk of developing a dangerous condition known as delirium tremens. Delirium tremens occurs within the first three days of a person’s last dose and is characterized by hallucinations, shaking, sweating, and other uncomfortable symptoms. In some cases, patients with delirium tremens have severe seizures that can lead to death. Doctors can keep patients safe as they deal with this difficult stage of the recovery process, so enrolling in a detox program at a reputable addiction treatment center is the only way to mitigate the risk of delirium tremens when trying to achieve sobriety.

How Does the Addiction Treatment Process Work?

Most patients start their addiction treatment journey in a residential detox program. At this stage, the patient remains under the close supervision of doctors and therapists until the worst detox symptoms are over, which usually takes about a week. Next, they typically start a residential treatment program. This length of a patient’s stay depends on their needs and progress. Some patients may only need a few weeks, but others could require more time.

A residential treatment program incorporates group therapies, holistic therapies, and tailored individual therapies to help the patient build healthy coping mechanisms to sustain long-term sobriety. During their stay, the patient will work closely with therapists to plan for life outside of the program. This includes finding suitable living arrangements, developing plans to deal with mental health emergencies, and connecting with a local addiction support group.

Once the patient makes it through the residential treatment process, they usually go through outpatient programs of varying intensity. In an outpatient program, the patient will commute to their treatment center for therapy but sleep at home and fulfill their everyday obligations. This marks the transition into normal life. As the patient progresses through an outpatient program, therapists typically decrease the intensity and frequency of their sessions.

Eventually, the patient will stop receiving treatment at an addiction recovery center, but they will still be able to connect with their peers and receive regular support by attending sessions at their local support group. No two patients are the same, so a good addiction recovery center won’t take a one-size-fits-all approach to your loved one’s treatment. Instead, they will coordinate with the patient and their loved ones to find the perfect combination of therapies for their unique needs.

Enroll in an Addiction Treatment Program Today

Without proper treatment, alcohol dependence will spiral out of control and cause irreparable damage to a person’s health. In some cases, a drinking problem might get so bad that it leads to wet brain. You don’t want someone in your life to develop irreversible dementia, so you should call Mid Hudson Addiction Recovery as soon as possible to find the right treatment option for your loved one.

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