Question

Krishna is a 7 year old boy who lives in a small village in India. Vegetables are expensive and he has only had carrots once in his life. His parents can’t afford pumpkin, squash, or the rich dark greens at market. After years of not understanding why their son is not responding well and cannot play with other kids, his parents finally can afford a doctor. The doctor can only tell the parents that the child is blind and has been since an early age. His parents are surprised, but the doctor isn’t, as the parents have poor night vision. Krishna is likely suffering from a deficiency of which micronutrient?

Answer 1

Answer:

Krishna is probably suffering from vitamin A deficiency.

Explanation:

Vitamins are considered micronutrients as the body only needs small amounts of them to function perfectly.

Vitamin A is an indispensable element for ensuring not only visual acuity, but proper growth and tissue differentiation. Lack of this vitamin can cause blindness, poor night vision, xerophthalmia, also called dry eye or keratoconjunctivitis sicca, a disorder that is not only characterized by changes in tear production or composition, but also produces dryness of the skin, cornea, conjunctivae and the appearance of small white spots in the sclera (Bitot patches). In the most severe cases of xerophthalmia, corneal ulceration and necrosis may occur.

According to the symptoms that Krishina and her parents have, we can say that she is likely to be vitamin A deficient.