Guide To Vitamin A Deficiency Symptoms

Xerophthalmia

Xerophthalmia is a disease that progressively affects an individual's eyes when they have a vitamin A deficiency. Patients deficient in vitamin A have corneas that become excessively dry as a result of dried out tear ducts. An affected individual's eyeball and eyelid lining become excessively thickened and begin to develop wrinkles. The front of a patient's cornea can become cloudy and may develop corneal ulcers. Lesions, deposits of tissue referred to as Bitot's spots, may develop on the cornea of an affected individual. The cornea is responsible for focusing and transmitting light into the eye and onto the retina. An individual's cornea must be free of debris and defects for them to be able to see properly. In the advanced stages of xerophthalmia, blindness occurs when part or all of a patient's cornea becomes liquified.

Keep reading to learn more about the warning signs of a vitamin A deficiency now.