Xerophthalmia - wikipedia Xerophthalmia Xerophthalmia Pronunciation / ˌzɪərɒfˈθælmiə / ( listen ) Specialty Endocrinology Xerophthalmia ( from Ancient Greek xērós ( ξηρός ) meaning dry and ophthalmos ( οφθαλμός ) meaning eye ) is a medical condition in which the eye fails to produce tears. It may be caused by vitamin A deficiency, which is sometimes used to describe that condition, although there may be other causes. Xerophthalmia caused by a severe vitamin A deficiency is described by pathologic dryness of the conjunctiva and cornea. The conjunctiva becomes dry, thick and wrinkled. If untreated, it can lead to corneal ulceration and ultimately to blindness as a result of corneal damage. Xerophthalmia usually implies a destructive dryness of the conjunctival epithelium due to dietary vitamin A deficiency -- a rare condition in developed countries, but still causing much damage in developing countries. Other forms of dry eye are associated with aging, poor lid closure, scarring from a previous injury, or autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Sjögren 's syndrome, and these can all cause chronic conjunctivitis. Radioiodine therapy can also induce xerophthalmia, often transiently, although in some patients late onset or persistent xerophthalmia has been observed. The damage to the cornea in vitamin A associated xerophthalmia is quite different from damage to the retina at the back of the globe, a type of damage which can also be due to lack of vitamin A, but which is caused by lack of other forms of vitamin A which work in the visual system. Xerophthalmia from hypovitaminosis A is specifically due to lack of the hormone - like vitamin A metabolite retinoic acid, since ( along with certain growth - stunting effects ) the condition can be reversed in vitamin A deficient rats by retinoic acid supplementation ( however the retinal damage continues ). Since retinoic acid can not be reduced to retinal or retinol, these effects on the cornea must be specific to retinoic acid. This is in keeping with retinoic acid 's known requirement for good health in epithelial cells, such as those in the cornea. Contents 1 Cause 2 Prevention 3 Treatment 4 Epidemiology 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External links Cause The condition is not congenital and develops over the course of a few months as the lacrimal glands fail to produce tears. Other conditions involved in the progression already stated include the appearance of Bitot 's spots, which are clumps of keratin debris that build up inside the conjunctiva and night blindness, which precedes corneal ulceration and total blindness. WHO CLASSIFICATION : XN - Night blindness X1A - Conjunctival xerosis X1B - Bitot spots X2 - Corneal xerosis X3A - Corneal ulceration / keratomalacia, involving less than one - third of the cornea X3B - Corneal ulceration / keratomalacia, involving more than one - third of the cornea XS - Corneal scar due to xerophthalmia XF - Xerophthalmic fundus This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. ( June 2018 ) Prevention Prophylaxis consists of periodic administration of Vitamin A supplements. WHO recommended schedule, which is universally recommended is as follows : Infants 6 -- 12 months old and any older children weighing less than 8 kg -- 100,000 IU orally every 3 -- 6 months Children over 1 year and under 6 years of age -- 200,000 IU orally every 6 months Infants less than 6 months old, who are not being breastfed -- 50,000 IU orally should be given before they attain the age of 6 months Treatment Treatment can occur in two ways : treating symptoms and treating the deficiency. Treatment of symptoms usually includes the use of artificial tears in the form of eye drops, increasing the humidity of the environment with humidifiers, and wearing wraparound glasses when outdoors. Treatment of the deficiency can be accomplished with a Vitamin A or multivitamin supplement or by eating foods rich in Vitamin A. Treatment with supplements and / or diet can be successful until the disease progresses as far as corneal ulceration, at which point only an extreme surgery can offer a chance of returning sight. Epidemiology Xerophthalmia usually affects children under nine years old and `` accounts for 20,000 -- 100,000 new cases of childhood blindness each year in the developing countries. '' The disease is largely found in developing countries like many of those in Africa and Southern Asia. See also Keratoconjunctivitis Keratoconjunctivitis sicca Keratomalacia, also caused by vitamin A deficiency. References Jump up ^ Solans, R. ; Bosch, J.A. ; Galofre, P. ; others ( 2001 ), `` Salivary and lacrimal gland dysfunction ( sicca syndrome ) after radioiodine therapy. '', Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 42 ( 5 ) : 738 -- 43, PMID 11337569 Further reading Medicine.Net. `` Definition of Xerophthalmia. '' 26 May 2003. Jellife DB. `` Xerophthalmia : A World - wide Drive for Prevention. '' Journal of Tropical Pediatrics 1980 ; 26 : ii - iii. 4 November 2009. External links Classification ICD - 10 : E50. 6 - E50. 7 ICD - 9 - CM : 264.6 - 264.7 MeSH : D014985 DiseasesDB : 34035 External resources MedlinePlus : 000426 Patient UK : Xerophthalmia Diseases of the human eye ( H00 -- H59 360 -- 379 ) Adnexa Eyelid Inflammation Stye Chalazion Blepharitis Entropion Ectropion Lagophthalmos Blepharochalasis Ptosis Blepharophimosis Xanthelasma Eyelash Trichiasis Madarosis Lacrimal apparatus Dacryoadenitis Epiphora Dacryocystitis Xerophthalmia Orbit Exophthalmos Enophthalmos Orbital cellulitis Orbital lymphoma Periorbital cellulitis Conjunctiva Conjunctivitis allergic Pterygium Pinguecula Subconjunctival hemorrhage Globe Fibrous tunic Sclera Scleritis Episcleritis Cornea Keratitis herpetic acanthamoebic fungal Corneal ulcer Photokeratitis Thygeson 's superficial punctate keratopathy Corneal dystrophy Fuchs ' Meesmann Corneal ectasia Keratoconus Pellucid marginal degeneration Keratoglobus Terrien 's marginal degeneration Post-LASIK ectasia Keratoconjunctivitis sicca Corneal neovascularization Kayser -- Fleischer ring Haab 's striae Arcus senilis Band keratopathy Vascular tunic Iris Ciliary body Uveitis Intermediate uveitis Hyphema Rubeosis iridis Persistent pupillary membrane Iridodialysis Synechia Choroid Choroideremia Choroiditis Chorioretinitis Lens Cataract Congenital cataract Childhood cataract Aphakia Ectopia lentis Retina Retinitis Chorioretinitis Cytomegalovirus retinitis Retinal detachment Retinoschisis Ocular ischemic syndrome / Central retinal vein occlusion Central retinal artery occlusion Branch retinal artery occlusion Retinopathy diabetic hypertensive Purtscher 's of prematurity Bietti 's crystalline dystrophy Coats ' disease Macular degeneration Retinitis pigmentosa Retinal haemorrhage Central serous retinopathy Macular edema Epiretinal membrane ( Macular pucker ) Vitelliform macular dystrophy Leber 's congenital amaurosis Birdshot chorioretinopathy Other Glaucoma / Ocular hypertension / Primary juvenile glaucoma Floater Leber 's hereditary optic neuropathy Red eye Globe rupture Keratomycosis Phthisis bulbi Persistent fetal vasculature / Persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous Persistent tunica vasculosa lentis Familial exudative vitreoretinopathy Pathways Optic nerve Optic disc Optic neuritis optic papillitis Papilledema Foster Kennedy syndrome Optic atrophy Optic disc drusen Optic neuropathy Ischemic anterior ( AION ) posterior ( PION ) Kjer 's Leber 's hereditary Toxic and nutritional Strabismus Extraocular muscles Binocular vision Accommodation Paralytic strabismus Ophthalmoparesis Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia Kearns -- Sayre syndrome palsies Oculomotor ( III ) Fourth - nerve ( IV ) Sixth - nerve ( VI ) Other strabismus Esotropia / Exotropia Hypertropia Heterophoria Esophoria Exophoria Cyclotropia Brown 's syndrome Duane syndrome Other binocular Conjugate gaze palsy Convergence insufficiency Internuclear ophthalmoplegia One and a half syndrome Refraction Refractive error Hyperopia Myopia Astigmatism Anisometropia / Aniseikonia Presbyopia Vision disorders Blindness Amblyopia Leber 's congenital amaurosis Diplopia Scotoma Color blindness Achromatopsia Dichromacy Monochromacy Nyctalopia Oguchi disease Blindness / Vision loss / Visual impairment Anopsia Hemianopsia binasal bitemporal homonymous Quadrantanopia subjective Asthenopia Hemeralopia Photophobia Scintillating scotoma Pupil Anisocoria Argyll Robertson pupil Marcus Gunn pupil Adie syndrome Miosis Mydriasis Cycloplegia Parinaud 's syndrome Other Nystagmus Childhood blindness Infections Trachoma Onchocerciasis Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Xerophthalmia&oldid=849624568 '' Categories : Disorders of eyelid, lacrimal system and orbit Vitamin deficiencies Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Articles including recorded pronunciations ( English ) Infobox medical condition ( new ) Articles to be expanded from June 2018 All articles to be expanded Articles with empty sections from June 2018 All articles with empty sections Articles using small message boxes Talk Contents About Wikipedia বাংলা Беларуская Català Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Gaeilge 한국어 Italiano Қазақша Bahasa Melayu Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Русский Slovenščina Svenska Татарча / tatarça Українська 14 more Edit links This page was last edited on 10 July 2018, at 08 : 03 ( UTC ). 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Question: xerophthalmia in human beings is caused due to deficiency of vitamin
Answer: A