Beriberi Skin Disease

Beriberi is a disease that occurs due to thiamine or Vitamin B1 deficiencies. In the United States, beriberi is very rare because many foods are now enriched with vitamins, but in developing or famine-stricken nations, beriberi can be very common, according to the U.S. National Library of Health.

Causes

• In most cases, beriberi occurs because of an inadequate amount of thiamine in your diet. Infrequently, the cause is a genetic abnormality which makes you unable to properly digest and use thiamine from food you eat.

Types

• There are two kinds of beriberi: wet, which affects the cardiovascular system, and dry, which affects the neurological system.

Symptoms

• Common symptoms of wet beriberi include shortness of breath while sleeping or during routine daily activities, increased heart rate and swelling of your lower legs, while dry beriberi causes difficulty walking, loss of feeling or paralysis in your feet, mental confusion, speech difficulties, body pains, strange eye movements, tingling and vomiting. Either type of beriberi can cause skin rashes, but this is very rare.

Treatment

• Injections of a thiamine supplement are the most common treatment for berberi disease. In some cases, patients receive other types of vitamins as well, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Prognosis

• Without treatment, beriberi disease is usually fatal. Even with treatment, any damage done to the heart or nerves is not reversible.