Micronutrient deficiencies, including low vitamin A, affect an estimated 2 billion people worldwide.
If your body isn’t getting the vitamins and minerals it needs, it could cause illness, infection, or even death.
It’s important to notice the signs of vitamin A deficiency as soon as possible.
You might not realize you have low vitamin A until a doctor runs a blood test.
By keeping an eye out for symptoms of low vitamin A, you can get help as soon as possible.
Here are eight potential symptoms you might experience if your vitamin A levels are low.
By tracking these symptoms, you can take control of your health before it gets worse. Get ahead of your vitamin A troubles with these tips today.
1. Dry Eyes
If you’ve developed a vitamin A deficiency, there’s a chance you’ll experience problems with your eyes, first.
Vitamin A is responsible for keeping your cornea (the eye’s outside covering) clear.
This vitamin is also a part of a protein within your eyes called rhodopsin.
Rhodopsin helps you see in low light (more on this later).
Vitamin A is a group of antioxidants that help the surface of your eye act as a barrier to viruses and bacteria.
As a result, vitamin A is able to reduce your risk of eye infections and infectious diseases.
If you’ve developed dry eyes, there’s a chance you’re not getting enough vitamin A in your diet.
Your ophthalmologist might suggest you use eye drops that contain vitamin A to treat dry eyes.
The vitamin A within these drops can keep your eyes lubricated.
Using vitamin A eye drops could also help if you developed superior limbic keratoconjunctivitis.
This condition causes episodes of inflammation in the cornea.
Without a proper daily intake of vitamin A, your cornea will dry out. This can cause the front of your eye to cloud.
You might develop corneal ulcers, too.
In fact, dry eyes are sometimes one of the first signs that you’ve developed a vitamin A deficiency.
This symptom is also known as xerophthalmia, which can impact your ability to produce tears.
As a result, you might develop conjunctiva. Your eyes might appear wrinkled as they dry out.
Vitamin A helps your body produce retinoic acid.
Xerophthalmia is often caused by low levels of retinoic acid, which can cause your eyes to become itchy.
The daily recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin A is 700 mcg RAE (retinol activity equivalents) for adult women and 900 mcg RAE for adult men.
Women who are pregnant or lactating will need to adjust their intake.
2. Delayed Growth
Are your children getting enough vitamins from the foods they eat each day?
Unfortunately, children who don’t get enough vitamin A from their diet may not grow properly.
Vitamin A plays an important role in the body’s growth and development.
Providing your children with a daily vitamin A supplement can help improve their growth.
It can also help to combine vitamin A with other nutrients.
This vitamin plays a part in:
- Helping soft membranes and skin cells grow
- Developing tissue, teeth, and bones (building your child’s body structure)
- Developing proper eyesight
- Repairing tissues, muscles, and bones (from falls and accidents)
If your children aren’t fans of taking supplements, that’s okay.
You can also make sure they get enough vitamin A by adding different foods to their diet.
We get vitamin A from our diet through two sources: beta-carotene and retinol.
Beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A. It’s found in kale, mangos, carrots, sweet potatoes, orange, and leafy greens.
Retinol, on the other hand, is found in animal food sources and fortified foods.
You can feed your children fortified breakfast cereal, eggs, and fatty fish like salmon to boost their retinol intake.
Your body will store both beta-carotene and retinol in the liver.
3. Dry Skin
Remember, vitamin A plays a part in how skin cells grow and repair themselves. It also helps your body fight inflammation, which can cause skin issues.
If you’re suffering from a vitamin A deficiency, you might develop dry skin. Eczema, which causes itchy, dry, and inflamed skin is common, too.
If you have dry skin, consider speaking with your doctor about using prescription medication.
A medication that contains vitamin A could help fight the inflammation that’s causing your skin issues.
4. Poor Healing
Collagen is a natural protein that helps your skin remain its structure.
It’s also a building block for your skin, bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments.
In fact, collagen is also found in your teeth, blood vessels, and corneas.
Without collagen, your skin might start to sag and wrinkle. You might struggle to heal from a wound, too.
Vitamin A helps your body create collagen. Using either a topical or oral product that contains vitamin A could keep your skin strong.
In fact, using a topical vitamin could help prevent wounds that are associated with diabetes as well.
5. Throat and Chest Infections
Vitamin A deficiency could impact your immune system.
If you’re developing infections more often than usual, speak with a doctor right away.
Regular throat and chest infections could indicate you’re not taking enough vitamins.
Taking a vitamin A supplement could help treat respiratory tract infection.
Vitamin A produces retinoids, which are responsible for keeping your skin and eyes healthy.
They also help your body product lymphocytes and T-cells. Both play a part in keeping your immune system strong.
Low vitamin A levels could leave you with a weak immune system.
If your body is attacked by a pathogen, your vulnerable immune system might fail to fight it off.
As a result, you might develop an infection.
If you feel like you’re getting sick more often than usual, consider speaking with your doctor about scheduling a blood test.
6. Night Blindness
Remember, vitamin A plays an important role in your eye health.
Dry eyes are only one potential issue. You might develop poor vision or night blindness as well.
Have you experienced eye discomfort recently? Maybe you’re experiencing trouble seeing properly.
If you’re noticing changes in your vision, consider scheduling an appointment with your doctor.
Issues with your vision are one of the main symptoms of vitamin A deficiency.
Many people with a vitamin A deficiency have trouble seeing at night.
Also known as nyctalopia, night blindness occurs when your eyes can’t adjust to lower levels of light.
When the light is low, you might notice objects around you appear pitch black.
It’s important not to drive at night if you think you’re deficient in vitamin A.
You could have a difficult time recognizing objects around you.
Your eyes will also struggle to adjust as you move between dim and lit areas.
Your rod cells are located within the retina.
There, your body synthesizes a receptor-protein (rhodopsin) from vitamin A that’s regenerated when you’re in an area of low light.
Without vitamin A, your rhodopsin levels will drop, which can cause night blindness.
Over time, night blindness can become permanent vision loss if your body is still low in vitamin A.
You might want to check in with your doctor to check your daily RDA.
Low vitamin A is common in children who live in developing countries as well.
In fact, an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 vitamin A-deficient children become blind every year.
Half of these children die within 12 months after losing their eyesight.
7. Skin Trouble
Acne is one of the most common skin conditions in the US. In fact, it affects about 50 million Americans every year.
Acne is even occurring more often in adults, affecting 15% of women.
One of the main causes of acne are outside pollutants and inflammation throughout the body.
Vitamin A helps with skin development and helps your body reduce inflammation.
Most people don’t realize that their skin is actually a part of their immune system.
In fact, your skin is the body’s first line of defense. It’s responsible for protecting you against bacteria, pollutants, and infection.
Without vitamin A, your body will fail to protect you from these outside forces.
As a result, you might experience skin problems more often.
Talk to your doctor if you’re having skin issues. They might suggest oral or topical vitamin A.
8. Trouble Conceiving
That’s right: vitamin A deficiency can impact your ability to conceive, too.
The body needs vitamin A for the reproduction process.
A deficiency can make it difficult for you to conceive. It can even cause infertility in women and men.
In fact, some women experience miscarriages because they’re low on vitamin A.
Make sure you’re taking vitamin A as part of your prenatal vitamin regimen.
These halal gummy vitamins can provide some of the vitamins you need.
If you’re having fertility issues, make sure to check your vitamin A levels.
Start Supplementing: 8 Warning Signs of a Vitamin A Deficiency
Don’t leave your body deficient in such an essential vitamin.
If you notice these symptoms of vitamin A deficiency, speak with your doctor as soon as possible.
They can run a blood test to make sure your body is getting the nutrients it needs.
Looking for more helpful tips? Concerned about your health? We can help!
Explore the latest health tips on our blogs today.