Thiamine Deficiency Beriberi 1999.1.4

Thiamine Deficiency (Beriberi) 1999.1.4

This disease is commonly known as beriberi. The main symptoms include heaviness, soreness, numbness, and edema in the lower limbs at onset; some patients may experience loss or dulling of sensation, and movement may also be impaired. In some cases, both lower limbs exhibit rigidity, tremors, muscle atrophy, and disappearance or weakening of the knee-jerk and Achilles tendon reflexes, along with glove-and-stocking type sensory abnormalities. This condition is often difficult to distinguish from progressive muscular dystrophy and polyneuritis, greatly affecting clinical treatment outcomes. In fact, this disease is the most common in clinical practice; therefore, all hospitalized patients with chronic wasting conditions should take vitamin B1 orally to prevent beriberi. Often, people mistakenly confuse athlete's foot and foot eczema with beriberi, completely overlooking the true case—this is a common problem in the medical community today! The primary treatment for these symptoms is oral vitamin B1.