Vitamin A Supplementation
Vitamin A supplementation VAD is still a public health problem in the Dominican Republic. Contributing factors are poverty and infections. Clinical manifestation of VAD includes night blindness. Night blindness, if diagnosed and
treated in time, is reversible; but if untreated can lead to irreversible blindness. Sub-clinical VAD increases susceptibility to infectious diseases which, in turn, increases the need for vitamin A and can subsequently decrease
the likelihood of survival from serious illness such as measles. Vitamin A capsules (200,000 IU) were distributed to all the children in La Guamita in February (see Tables 1 and 2 and the related article in the SIGHT AND LIFE Newsletter 2/2005). Five months later the status of those children who had previously reported problems with night blindness was determined. Except for the children in one family, a 5-year-old
child and her 4-year-old brother, all children reported improvement in night vision. The children, whose symptoms included eye twitching, were put on the referral list to be seen by another eye care team later this year.
In addition to the children of La Guamita one patient from another campo reported vision problems in herself and night blindness in her child. The child was referred to receive vitamin A, and the mother was put on the list for the next eye care team visit.
A Sunday afternoon charla was presented to the La Guamita community on nutrition, including a discussion of vitamin A requirements for good vision and health, and vitamin A food sources. Mothers were encouraged to breast-feed infants. The community was encouraged to continue their good vitamin A consumption then the mango season ends by including carrots and dark green lettuces in their diet. The Cooperadore followed up the
charla by stressing to his community the health benefits of a vitamin A rich diet. A Pharmacy student from Creighton University contributed to the effort in La Guamita by packaging 90-day supplies of multivitamin supplements. Almost every patient seen in the clinic the last two weeks of July (approximately 200 individuals) received a packet of multivitamins.