It became a routine agenda every month for Moms bring your baby to a health center such as neighborhood health center. Well, the neighborhood health center program this month is giving vitamin A form of drops. Keep in baseball does the child’s age is given vitamin A Nehra? What are the functions of vitamin A?
It should be noted Moms, giving vitamin A should be in accordance with the dose and the child’s age. WHO set the levels of vitamin A based on age. For infants aged 0-6 months are recommended 3 x 50,000 IU, infants aged 6-11 months are given vitamin A capsules blue, 100 000 IU dose.
While children aged 1-5 years given the red capsule with a dose of 200,000 IU (1 drop). Giving vitamin A is usually done through a clinic or neighborhood health center, every six months. Source of Vitamin A
In principle, vitamin A cannot be produced by the body, so it should be filled from outside, through food or outside food such as vitamin A in the form of capsules or drops.
The form of vitamin A, first, the form of a vitamin A (retinol) found in fish oils, liver, egg yolks and butter. Second, the form of provitamin A (karatenoid) contained in vegetables, dark green and some orange-colored fruit. Type of provitamin A will be converted into active vitamin A in the gut.
Sources of vitamin A can be found in spinach, cassava leaves, papaya ripe orange, liver and egg yolk.
Function of Vitamin A
Giving vitamin A aims to maintain eye health and prevent blindness. Another function is as activating the metabolism so it can improve skin elasticity and epithelium. Giving vitamin A to prevent skin does not become wrinkled. So the skin becomes smoother.
If Excessive or Lack of
Although vitamin A good for health, but if excessive intake can cause poisoning because they do not dissolve in water. Excess vitamin A also can cause the skin becomes thicker and disrupt the development of the kidney – the kidney working children has not been so strong.
Meanwhile, when vitamin A deficiency, children will be susceptible to infection and in danger of experiencing night blindness, dry eyes – and mucous membranes of the eye cornea experiencing drought.
And if left unchecked, would lead to thickening of the mucous membranes, folds, and wrinkles, looks like white patches of foam soap (Bitot spots). Furthermore, the eye cornea will experience injury and could eventually lead to permanent blindness that cannot be restored anymore.
Causes of Vitamin A Deficiency
- Foods containing vitamin A lack of or low.
- The low consumption of vitamin A and provitamin A in pregnant women to give birth will give low levels of vitamin A in breast milk.
- Solids that lack sufficient for vitamin A.
- Impaired absorption of vitamin A or provitamin A (pancreatic disease, chronic diarrhea).
- Impaired conversion of provitamin A to vitamin A in disorders of thyroid gland function.
- Damage to the liver (kwashiorkor, chronic hepatitis).