Allergy to vitamin a: symptoms, causes, treatment

Many people know about vitamin A, which is useful for the eyesight and growth of the child, contained in carrots since childhood. In fact, retinol performs many other functions in our body: it regulates the production of proteins, ensures the normal development of the fetus, and normalizes the functioning of the reproductive system.

It is especially valuable for women due to its ability to improve skin condition and slow down the aging process. In short, everyone, without exception, needs vitamin A, so an allergic reaction to it becomes a serious cause for concern.

Retinol allergy reasons

The precursor to vitamin A is beta-carotene. Entering the body with food, it turns into retinol. Overdose is one of the main reasons that can cause vitamin A allergy. Even with the regular use of foods containing beta-carotene in considerable quantities, hypervitaminosis does not develop.

In the overwhelming majority of cases, overdose is due to illiterate use of drugs with retinoids.

Please note that there are much fewer preparations containing only beta - carotene or retinoids on the pharmaceutical market than multivitamin complexes. Many people make a choice in favor of the latter, wanting to provide themselves not only with vitamin A, but also with other substances. Some people take these drugs regularly, believing that they have permanent hypovitaminosis. Few people think that in addition to vitamins, which, by the way, are absorbed worse than natural ones, such preparations contain many excipients.

Any of these compounds are potential allergens. In addition, a person does not always need all the vitamins that make up the complex. That is why unpleasant symptoms after taking multivitamins are observed especially often.

Natural and synthetic vitamin

Careful adherence to the recommended dosages does not at all guarantee that allergy symptoms will not appear. Most vitamin preparations contain synthetic analogs of retinol or retinoids - retinol acetate and retinol palmitate. Like all artificially obtained vitamin-like substances, they have lower bioavailability compared to natural vitamin A. Part of the undigested retinoids is excreted, while the other part remains circulating, is deposited in the tissues, provoking the development of negative reactions in a child or an adult.

In addition, with the breakdown of retinol palmitate, useful saturated fatty acids are formed, but retinol acetate, which is a salt of acetic acid, is not physiological for the body, and therefore may well cause symptoms allergies.

Recently, manufacturers have been focusing on the "naturalness" of their preparations, indicating that the vitamin A contained in them was obtained from carrots. In the composition of such funds, beta-carotene is indeed indicated. However, in its pure form, it is unstable, so storing such drugs would make them completely useless. Beta-carotene in the composition of preparations obtained from natural raw materials is processed, due to which the arrangement of its atoms in space changes. This isomer is stable, but, unfortunately, it behaves differently in the body than unchanged beta-carotene. In this regard, such drugs quite often cause allergy to vitamin A.

Symptoms of an allergic reaction

Most often, allergy symptoms are represented by the following phenomena:

• redness and flaking of the skin;
• itchy skin and burning sensation;
• rashes in the form of vesicles or urticaria;
• runny nose and nasal congestion;
• reddening of the sclera, cutting eyes and lacrimation.

In a severe course of the disease, symptoms of Quincke's edema join the signs of dermatitis, rhinitis and conjunctivitis:

• obsessive cough;
• hoarseness of voice;
• a feeling of suffocation;
• swelling of the soft tissues of the face and limbs.

If hypervitaminosis caused an allergy to vitamin A, then in addition to the symptoms described, additional symptoms are observed:

• diarrhea;
• nausea and vomiting;
• profuse sweating;
• headache and dizziness;
• severe itching of the skin;
• darkening of skin color;
• hair loss.

A significant excess of retinol can lead to bleeding disorders. In pregnant women, hypovitaminosis becomes the cause of developmental defects of the child.

We should also mention retinoid dermatitis. This condition develops against the background of long-term use of cosmetics with retinoids. These substances slow down the growth and formation of the sebaceous glands, therefore prolonged use of the cream with retinoids leads to overdrying of the skin. The symptoms of retinoid dermatitis may be similar to those of allergic dermatitis, but they are less severe and resolve quickly with moisturizers.

Prevention and elimination of allergies

Treatment involves stopping the entry of the allergen into the body. Avoid taking vitamin preparations and cosmetics containing retinoids or beta-carotene. If an allergic reaction occurs after eating foods rich in vitamin A, it is also better to refrain from eating them. Remember that natural provitamin A rarely causes negative reactions, therefore, allergies are responsible for most likely, the components of fertilizers or substances with which the fruits are treated to increase the term have become storage.

Systemic treatment includes a course of taking antihistamines (Altiva, Cetrinal, Aleron).

To accelerate the elimination of the allergen, it is recommended to drink more liquid, as well as to take enterosorbents (white coal, Polysorb, Laktofiltrum). Local treatment is carried out with creams and ointments with various active ingredients:

1. "Tavegil", "Fenistil-gel" contain antihistamines.
2. Lanolin, Bepanten and Panthenol stimulate regeneration processes.
3. Hydrocortisone ointment, "Afloderm", "Apulein" contain corticosteroids, so it is undesirable to treat them without the permission of a doctor.

The best prevention of an allergic reaction to vitamin A will be the refusal of unreasonable intake of vitamin preparations, even if they contain beta-carotene. For a healthy person to maintain a normal level of vitamin in the body, it is enough to eat a balanced diet. Provitamin A is found in butter, fish oil, green and yellow fruits.