Tropical ulcers often developed in swollen legs, and continued to weep
as long as the edema existed. If the edema had been caused by salt
intake, it could be, controlled by eliminating salt, but for the most
part salt was not a factor, because we rarely had any salt in our
diet.
Patients with dry beriberi were usually very thin. Their chief
complaint was lightning-like pains (neuralgia) in their legs and feet.
The only relief came from soaking their legs in buckets of cold water.
Many sat up all night trying to obtain some comfort.
On a rare occasion a dry beriberi patient would develop edema in his
feet and legs; strange as it may seem, the edema seemed to relieve the
pains of the dry beriberi.
Forty years later, some of the survivors still have leg pains in spite
of heavy vitamin therapy indicating permanent nerve damage.
Beriberi Heart Disease: Beriberi heart disease was seen frequently,
and often resulted in sudden death. Like the legs and abdomen, the
heart became enlarged with edema; the beat became irregular. As some
patients lay down, their heart would stop beating, especially if lying
on the left side.
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