​Vitamin A and bladder cancer and more about a forgotten vitamin in our affluent countries.

Vitamin A is extremely important for the health of the mucous membranes ["the inner skin"] such as the lining of the bronchial tubes ,the intestines ,the bladder etc

The eyes also badly need vitamin A.

One of the main reasons of blindness in the world [xerophthalmia, keratomalacia] is/was the lack of vitamin A in poor countries , especially after a measles -epidemics or after severe diarrhoea.
Here the missionaries and other aid-organizations have done a lot of good by supplying once a year a high dose of vitamin A to children in these poor countries.
Do remember that even in our country-if there are cases of measles["chatzevet"] a high dose of vitamin A can make the disease far more easy.

Also in the treatment of longer lasting diarrhoea vitamin A and zinc supplements are very important and nearly always forgotten by most doctors.

In treating giardia lamblia infections he diarrhoea may continue if vitamin A is not added to the treatment.[ many India travelers]

The following links are worth looking at.

http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/training/2.4/5.html  A VERY WELL-DONE PRESENTATION

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9537797

PERIODIC DOSE DELIVERY of Vitamin A

Periodic oral delivery with a standard 200,000 IU (60,000 mcg) dose of vitamin A as retinyl palmitate, and nearly always with 40 IU of vitamin E (to improve absorption), comprises the third and most direct intervention strategy.(17) First suggested in 1964,(46) and soon followed by early pilot field trials,(47-49) large-dose vitamin A distribution has gained wide acceptance as a standard intervention throughout the world.(17) Currently, UNICEF distributes approximately 80 million 200,000 IU vitamin A capsules annually(50) (Figure 3), while in India, some 20 to 25 million children receive this same oral dose of vitamin A in oil by spoon each year (Figure 4). The physiologic objective of periodic dosing is to maximize liver reserves from a single, large, oral dose of vitamin A while minimizing the risk of acute toxicity.(43, 51) The operational objective of the periodic dosing strategy is to achieve the widest coverage of the target group throughout the high-risk years by a system that is culturally acceptable, administratively feasible, and economically practical.

As noted, the oral dose vitamin A is recommended for both treatment and prevention of vitamin A deficiency and xerophthalmia. Due to its widespread use as a major prophylactic strategy, this paper will examine in detail the experiences and effectiveness of oral dose delivery, as well as means for its evaluation.