Ans. C: 110 mg orally on two successive days Nearly all of the early stages of xerophthalmia can be reversed by administration of a massive dose (2,00,000 IU or 110 mg of retinol palmitate) orally on 2 successive days Xerophthalmia/ Dry eyes Condition in which the eye fails to produce tears. Xerophthalmia caused by a severe vitamin A deficiency is described by pathologic dryness of the conjunctiva and * cornea. The conjunctiva becomes dry, thick and wrinkled. If untreated, it can lead to corneal ulceration and ultimately to blindness as a result of corneal damage. Xerophthalmia is a term that usually implies a destructive dryness of the conjunctival epithelium due to dietary vitamin A deficiency -- a rare condition in developed countries, but still causing much damage in developing countries. Other forms of dry eye are associated with aging, poor lid closure, scarring from previous injury, or autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid ahritis and SjOgren's syndrome, and these can all cause chronic conjunctivitis. Radioiodine therapy can also induce xerophthalmia, often transiently Xerophthalmia from hypovitaminosis A is specifically due to lack of the hormone-like vitamin A metabolite retinoic acid Treatment can occur in two ways: treating symptoms and treating the deficiency. Treatment of symptoms usually includes use of aificial tears in the form of eye drops, increasing the humidity of the environment with humidifiers, and wearing wrap around glasses when outdoors. Treatment of the deficiency can be accomplished with a Vitamin A or multivitamin supplement or by eating foods rich in Vitamin A. Treatment with supplements and/or diet can be successful until the disease progresses as far as corneal ulceration, at which point only an extreme surgery can offer a chance of returning sight.