Special Operations Forces Medical Handbook

5-138

Vitamin NameARetinoids and Carotenoids DCalciferol ETocopherol KPhytonadione

Dietary SourcesFortified milk, fortified breakfast cereals. Yellow-orange pigmented fruit such as cantaloupe and papaya; sweet potatoes and carrots. Dark leafy vegetables (spinach, broccoli, etc.). Organ meats such as liver.Fortified milk, fish 0ils, sardines and salmon.

NOTE:

Most people get

vitamin D from exposure to sunlight.Vegetable oils, margarine, green vegetables, nuts, wheat germ and whole grains Liver, green leafy vegetables, GI flora can produce from diet

DeciencyNight blindness, xerophthalmia, poor growth, dry skin Rickets (children)-bowed bones, painful walking, tetany; Osteomalacia (adults)-bowed bones, fractures Hemolysis of red blood cells, nerve destruction Hemorrhage, bruising

TreatmentOleovitamin A, 15-25 thousand units once or twice a day po. If absorption defect is present, give same dosage IM. Be aware that the minimum toxic dose in adults is about 75-100 thousand units daily.Treatment can only protect against further deformities. Diet high in calcium and phosphorus, 25-100 thousand units vitamin D daily. Treat contributing disease if present.RDA is 8-10 mg of tocopherol equivalentsRDA is 60-80 micrograms

Table 5-8 Continued