Severe measles or complications of measles often occur in malnourished children, especially children with vitamin A deficiency, and children with weakened immune systems.
Benefits of vitamin A for measles patients
Due to the body’s reduced resistance, patients are susceptible to complications, most children with measles die from complications of the disease. Vitamin A supplementation has been shown by some studies to reduce deaths from measles by 50%.
Measles is a factor that affects children’s malnutrition. Children with measles often have poor appetite, refuse to eat or refuse to eat due to mouth ulcers, because the infection, vomiting and diarrhea not only increase the need for certain nutrients but also increase the excretion and reduce the absorption of nutrients.
In particular, measles increases the body’s need for vitamin A, leading to vitamin A deficiency, even in children who were previously well-nourished and did not lack vitamin A, it can still cause complications such as corneal ulcers, even blindness. For example, night blindness, Bitot’s spots (opaque white spots on the cornea of the eye)…
In addition, for measles in children, providing vitamin A also has the effect of reducing the severity of dangerous complications (eg acute diarrhea, respiratory infections).
Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the use of high doses of vitamin A in the treatment of measles in children to help them recover quickly and avoid complications after the disease. All children with measles must take vitamin A according to the regimen of the Ministry of Health.
However, parents should not arbitrarily supplement vitamin A for their children, the dosage should be appropriate for each patient, if arbitrarily, it can be harmful to the child.
When children have measles, they need to increase foods rich in vitamin A.
Use foods rich in vitamin A in meals
The diet ensures enough of 4 food groups. The group provides carbohydrates, protein, fat, rich in essential vitamins and minerals.
For children who are still breastfeeding: Parents need to continue breastfeeding, breastfeed more often combined with reasonable supplementary feeding. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months is the best way to help children grow and develop optimally and contribute to the best disease prevention.
Feed children enough nutritional needs, diverse foods (enough 4 food groups), not too abstinent to compensate for lost nutrients (especially energy and protein) due to infection and disease progression.
Children need to eat enough protein-rich foods. In particular, foods rich in protein with high biological value such as meat, fish (carp, snakehead fish, basa fish, silver carp, salmon, herring, etc.), eggs, milk, seafood are also sources of zinc and iron to help strengthen the immune system and resistance for children. In case children have complications of diarrhea or pneumonia, zinc should be supplemented orally according to medical instructions.
Children should eat more yellow and red vegetables and fruits (such as carrots, tomatoes, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, papayas, watermelons, etc.) and dark green leafy vegetables (such as spinach, Malabar spinach, red amaranth, spinach, broccoli, etc.). These vegetables contain many vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin A, vitamin C, etc., to help strengthen the immune system, fight infections, and quickly heal injuries, especially eye injuries, and prevent blindness.
Other fruits rich in vitamin C help improve resistance and provide water for children such as grapefruit, apples, pears… are also very good. In addition, children need to take vitamin A supplements according to the treatment regimen.
Use food sources rich in vitamin A, combined in meals: Animal liver, fat from meat, egg yolks are foods of animal origin that contain a significant amount of vitamin A.
In addition, it is advisable to combine with plant sources rich in beta-carotene (precursor of vitamin A), such as yellow/red fruits and vegetables and dark green vegetables, such as spinach, amaranth, green cabbage, Malabar spinach, water spinach, jute, palm oil, soybean oil and other vegetable oils.
Vitamin A is fat-soluble. Therefore, the diet needs to use enough oil and fat to help the vitamin dissolve and convert from the form of provitamin A to the form of vitamin A that the body can absorb.
After recovering from measles, the child’s body becomes weak and needs to eat more. Adequate nutrition should be provided for at least 2 weeks so that the child can quickly recover and regain normal health.
