Beriberi

Beriberi and "athlete's foot" are two completely different diseases. Beriberi, also known as vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency, is a disease caused by severe vitamin B1 deficiency in the body due to various reasons, ultimately leading to damage to the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. Vitamin B1: It is an essential nutrient for the human body, but it is rarely stored in the body. Generally, after 1-2 weeks of dietary deficiency, the level of vitamin B1 in human tissues will decrease. Vitamin B1 participates in many important metabolic reactions in the human body, the most important of which is glucose metabolism. Once vitamin B1 is deficient, it will cause carbohydrate metabolism disorders, and the accumulation of pyruvate and lactic acid, intermediate products of carbohydrate metabolism, will damage the patient's central nervous and cardiovascular systems. This disease is divided into 3 types according to clinical manifestations: Dry beriberi: mainly characterized by neurological manifestations. It presents as sensory and motor disorders, decreased muscle strength, foot drop in some cases, and a high-stepping gait when walking (requiring high lifting of the lower limbs to start walking). Wet beriberi: mainly characterized by heart failure, presenting as weakness, fatigue, palpitations, and shortness of breath. Mixed beriberi: can simultaneously present with symptoms of both the nervous and cardiovascular systems.