226 Where There Is No Doctor 2011
NIGHT BLINDNESS AND XEROPHTHALMIA
(VITAMIN A DEFICIENCY)
This eye disease is most common in children between
1 and 5 years of age. It comes from not eating enough
foods with vitamin A. If not recognized and treated
early, it can make the child blind.
Signs:
• At first, the child may have night blindness.
He cannot see as well in the dark as other
people can.
• Later, he develops dry eyes
(xerophthalmia). The white of the eyes
loses its shine and begins to wrinkle.
• Patches of little gray bubbles (Bitot’s spots)
may form in the eyes.
• As the disease gets worse, the cornea also
becomes dry and dull, and may develop little pits.
• Then the cornea may quickly grow soft, bulge,
or even burst. Usually there is no pain.
Blindness may result from infection, scarring, or
other damage.
• Xerophthalmia often begins, or gets worse,
when a child is sick with another illness like
diarrhea, whooping cough, tuberculosis, or
measles. Examine the eyes of all sick and
underweight children. Open the child’s eyes
and look for signs of vitamin A deficiency.
Prevention and treatment:
Xerophthalmia can easily be prevented by eating foods that have vitamin A.
Do the following:
♦ Breastfeed the baby—up to 2 years, if possible.
♦ After the first 6 months, begin giving the child
foods rich in vitamin A, such as dark green leafy
vegetables, and yellow or orange fruits and
vegetables such as papaya (paw paw), mango,
and squash. Whole milk, eggs, and liver are
also rich in vitamin A.
♦ If the child is not likely to get these foods, or
if he is developing signs of night blindness or
xerophthalmia, give him vitamin A. 200,000 units
(60 mg. retinol, in capsule or liquid) once every
6 months (p. 391). Babies under 1 year of age
should get 100,000 units.