Why Your Toddlers Need To Get Vitamin A?

Why Your Toddlers Need To Get Vitamin A?

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Vitamin A is essential for eye health and prevents blindness, and more importantly, vitamin A can increase endurance. Children who get enough vitamin A will become more immune and if exposed to diarrhea, measles or other infectious diseases, not easy to be severe so as not to endanger the child's soul.

A study conducted in Pakistan in 2011 proved that vitamin A supplementation in children aged 5-59 months in the country was able to reduce mortality to 20% and showed a reduction of under-fives suffering from infectious diseases, diarrhea, measles and blindness. From the research shows that the importance of vitamin A is not only limited to the prevention of blindness, but more important is the relation with survival, growth and development and child health.

Supplementation of Vitamin A

Vitamin A supplementation is an intervention program for Vitamin A capsules for children aged 6-59 months and postpartum mothers who aims in addition to preventing blindness also to overcome the deficiency of Vitamin A is still quite high.

There are 2 types of high doses of Vitamin A capsules given in the supplementation activity of Vitamin A which is blue capsule (containing Vitamin A 100.000 IU) which is for baby age 6-11 month and red capsule (containing Vitamin A 200.000 IU) -59 months. Schedule of Vitamin A in infants and toddlers is 2 times a year every February and August. As for postpartum women, given a red capsule in the time range 0-42 days after delivery of 1 capsule and 1 capsule again 24 hours after the first capsule. Vitamin A supplementation can be obtained in health care facilities such as: hospital, health center, sub health center, village health post and posyandu.

In addition to routine activities, supplementation of Vitamin A is also given in special situations such as the outbreaks of measles and other infectious diseases, malnutrition cases and when the case of xerophthalmia is found. In addition to the incidence of natural disasters, infants and toddlers in the refuge are also given Vitamin A capsules to improve endurance and prevent worsening conditions.