Vitamin A deficiency can cause health problems throughout your body, including the eyes. Xerophthalmia is a group of eye signs and symptoms that can result in blindness. Treatment consists of taking vitamin A.
Xerophthalmia is pronounced "zeer-of-thal-mee-uh” or “zeer-op-thal-mee-uh.” The Greek root words literally mean “dry eye.”
While the group of conditions that is xerophthalmia includes dry eyes, it covers other signs and symptoms that affect your eyes. Xerophthalmia is caused by a lack of vitamin A and can cause blindness.
The vitamin A deficiency can happen in two ways:
According to the World Health Organization, there are some 254 million children worldwide with vitamin A deficiency. There are about 2.8 million children with xerophthalmia. In addition, it causes about 350,000 cases per year of childhood blindness, making it the leading cause of blindness in children.
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The signs and symptoms of xerophthalmia include the following items presented in the order, or stage, in which they generally happen:
Vitamin A deficiency causes xerophthalmia. Vitamin A is important to your vision in two major ways: for moisture and for pigments.
Your eyes need vitamin A to produce moisture to keep your corneas properly lubricated. If your corneas get too dry, they can become damaged, which can lead to blindness.
Also, your eyes need vitamin A to make specific pigments for your retinas to work correctly. A lack of vitamin A hinders your eyes’ ability to make these pigments, which can lead to night blindness. Rods are the parts of your eye that allow you to see in darkness or dim light.
You may lack vitamin A because you don’t get enough vitamin A in your diet or because you can’t use vitamin A effectively.
Vitamin A deficiency doesn’t happen often in the U.S. and other developed countries. Many of the people who are affected are children in developing nations who aren’t able to get the nutrients they need.
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Your provider may use these methods to diagnose xerophthalmia:
Your healthcare provider will recommend vitamin A supplements. Your provider may also suggest using artificial tears and topical antibiotics if you have an infection.
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The best way to avoid xerophthalmia is to include adequate amounts of vitamin A in your diet. These foods provide vitamin A:
Treatment for people with vitamin A deficiency includes supplements. Providers need to monitor these people because too much vitamin A can be fatal.
If xerophthalmia is treated, you can expect to recover. Without treatment, there’s a possibility of blindness.
If you’re having any vision issues, see your healthcare provider as soon as possible, even if you just feel like your eyes are dry.
Your provider, or your child’s provider, will check the eyes and skin during a health examination and will notice dryness of the skin and eyes. Providers will be able to see some of the changes to the eyes, which can happen because of vitamin A deficiency.
Your provider may also ask about your food intake or your child’s dietary habits and make suggestions.
Xerophthalmia is a term for a group of eye problems that happen as a result of not getting enough vitamin A. Keratomalacia, or a softening of your cornea, is one of the conditions that are grouped under xerophthalmia. Keratomalacia is like a subset of xerophthalmia.
The difference is that they refer to dryness of different parts of your body. Xerophthalmia refers to having dry eyes. Xerostomia refers to having a dry mouth.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Experiencing symptoms of eye disease can be scary. If you do have symptoms, see your provider as soon as you can. In the case of xerophthalmia, vitamin A tablets are a simple fix. It’s important to get a diagnosis early because early treatment leads to the best outcome. Global health organizations are working to eliminate vitamin A deficiency in developing countries to reduce cases of preventable blindness and illness among children.
Last reviewed on 10/22/2022.
Learn more about the Health Library and our editorial process.
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Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy