Mataracy
VIP Contributor
Night blindness can usually occur as a result of Vitamin A Deficiency.
This eye disease is most common in children between the age of 2 to 5 years. It comes from not eating enough foods that contain vitamin A. If not recognize d and treated early, it can make the child blind.
Signs that show that one have Night blindness:
- At first, the child may gave night blindness. H cannot see as well in he dark as other people can.
- 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.
- As the disease get worse, the cornea also becomes dry and dull, and may develop little pits.
- patches of little grays bubbles may firm in the eyes.
-Xerosis often begins, or gets wire , when a child is sick with another illness like diarrhea, whooping cough or measles. Examine the eyes of all sick and underweight children.
Prevention and Treatment:
Xerosis can easily be prevented by eating food that contain vitamin A. Do the following:
- The baby should be Breast feed up to 2 years, if possible.
- After the first 6 months, begin giving the child food rich in vitamin A, such as red palm oil, mango, pawpaw or dark green leafy vegetables.
- If the cornea is seen to be building , protect the eyes with a bandage, and get medical help urgently.
- In communities where Xerophthalmia is common, give 200, 000 unites of vitamin A once every 6 months to women who are breast feeding, and also to pregnant women during the second half of pregnancy.
WARNING: Too much vitamin A is poisonous. Do not give more than the amount advised by the Doctor.
Dark green leafy vegetables, and yellow or orange fruits and vegerables, prevent blindness in children.
This eye disease is most common in children between the age of 2 to 5 years. It comes from not eating enough foods that contain vitamin A. If not recognize d and treated early, it can make the child blind.
Signs that show that one have Night blindness:
- At first, the child may gave night blindness. H cannot see as well in he dark as other people can.
- 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.
- As the disease get worse, the cornea also becomes dry and dull, and may develop little pits.
- patches of little grays bubbles may firm in the eyes.
-Xerosis often begins, or gets wire , when a child is sick with another illness like diarrhea, whooping cough or measles. Examine the eyes of all sick and underweight children.
Prevention and Treatment:
Xerosis can easily be prevented by eating food that contain vitamin A. Do the following:
- The baby should be Breast feed up to 2 years, if possible.
- After the first 6 months, begin giving the child food rich in vitamin A, such as red palm oil, mango, pawpaw or dark green leafy vegetables.
- If the cornea is seen to be building , protect the eyes with a bandage, and get medical help urgently.
- In communities where Xerophthalmia is common, give 200, 000 unites of vitamin A once every 6 months to women who are breast feeding, and also to pregnant women during the second half of pregnancy.
WARNING: Too much vitamin A is poisonous. Do not give more than the amount advised by the Doctor.
Dark green leafy vegetables, and yellow or orange fruits and vegerables, prevent blindness in children.
