| ID | 373 |
|---|---|
| Name | XEROPHTHALMIA (Ocular lesions or changes that develop insidiously in longstanding vita-A deficiency are termed as xerophthalmia) |
| Cause | Xerophthalmia is caused by a lack of vitamin A and can cause blindness. |
| Signs Symptoms | Drying and wrinkling of the outer layer of your eye, or conjunctiva. Night blindness, an eye disease in which you can't see in dim light. Ulcers or scars on your cornea. Bitot's spots, or white spots on your conjunctiva. Softening of your cornea |
| Diagnosis | Complete medical history: |
| Investigations | blindness |
| Management | vitamin A therapy or supplementation. It can be given orally or by injection |
| Introduction | |
| History | |
| Etiology | ocular disease caused by severe Vitamin A deficiency (VAD). Vitamin A serves several essential functions in the eye, and deficiency can lead to a constellation of ocular signs and symptoms that affect the conjunctiva, cornea, and retina. |
| Clinical Features | Drying and wrinkling of the outer layer of your eye, or conjunctiva. Night blindness, an eye disease in which you can't see in dim light. Ulcers or scars on your cornea. Bitot's spots, or white spots on your conjunctiva. Softening of your cornea |
| Preventions | Prevention: 1. Xerophthalmia is common in malnutrition, diarrhoea and in infection, such as measles; these should be treated adequately, and vitamin A should be supplemented. 2. Distribution of vitamin A capsules (VAC-HP) should be done to the communities with low vitamin A status, 1 capsule every 6 months upto 6 years of age. 3. Education on local sources of the vitamin or carotenoids. 4. Programmes to encourage breast feeding, increased consumption of dark green leafy vegetables, lal-shak’, colored fruits (e.g. papya, jackfruits, carrots etc.). Egg, liver, fat of fish and meat, cod liver oil, mola fish etc. can be provided when parents could afford. Note: The eye lesions are completely reversible at the stage of conjunctival or corneal xerosis, but once keratomalacia develops blindness is inevitable. |
| Treatment | Treatment: For xerophthalmia, 3 capsules of high potency vitamin-A (2 lac/cap)-1 cap daily for 2 days then 1 cap after 2 weeks. Half of the dose (as drops, obtained by puncturing the capsule) is given to infant under 1 year of age. Each vitamin-A high potency capsule (VAC-HP) contains 200,000 units of vit A + 30 units of vitamin-E, the later is added for better absorption of vitamin-A.20 Note: locally available vitamin-A capsule contains 50,000 units ofvit-A. |
| Complications | night blindness or spots on your eyes |
| Prognosis | Xerophthalmia signifies a severity of VAD that can cause mortality from malnutrition and increased susceptibility to mucosal infections. Nearly 2/3 of children with keratomalacia die within months |
| Types | XN Night blindness XIA Conjunctival zerosis XIB Bitot’s spot |
| Classification | Classification: Classification code Clinical description XN Night blindness XIA Conjunctival zerosis XIB Bitot’s spot X2 Comeal xerosis X3A Corneal ulceration/keratomalacia involving less than 1/3 of the corneal surface X3B Comeal ulceration/keratomalacia involving 1/3 of the corneal surface XS Corneal scar XF Xerophthalmic fundus |
| Observation | |
| Pathology |
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