Boy, 8, goes permanently BLIND after common diet mistake millions of parents are guilty of
An elementary school student has reportedly been left permanently blind because their fussy eating left them so void of nutrients.
The eight-year-old boy, from Malaysia, is said to have eaten nothing but chicken nuggets, sausages and cookies since they were an infant.
The youngster was extremely deficient in a vitamin essential for keeping optical nerves healthy, according to a doctor who revealed the case.
His terrifying ordeal began during a second grade class in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur when he shouted: ‘Teacher, why can’t I see anything?’
He was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with severe vitamin A deficiency, a condition that affects one percent of Americans to a lesser extent.
Vitamin A is a key component in rhodopsin, a light-sensitive protein that helps produce pigments in the retina, which help with vision in low light areas.
The boy had likely suffered from optic atrophy, which causes cells in the optic nerve to waste away from long-term damage.
Dr Erna Nadia, a popular Malay social media doctor, wrote in a Facebook post: ‘As a mother… we can’t always cook because we are busy… pity for the parents of this student… it is not easy for them to accept.’
A boy in Malaysia went permanently blind after
She is now urging parents to be aware of the signs of vitamin A deficiency: dry eyes, shadows or gray spots on the whites of the eyes, difficulty seeing at night or in the dark, or the inability to produce tears.
Foods high in vitamin A include spinach, carrots, mangoes, papaya fruit, apricots, fish, chicken, eggs and sweet potatoes.
There have been several examples of similar cases in the US.
Last year, DailyMail.com revealed how a boy from Massachusetts, 12, went blind under similar circumstances.
The child suffered from autism and has an extreme phobia or certain food textures, meaning he lived on a diet of plain burgers, fries with ranch, donuts and juice boxes.
He was found to have severe deficiencies in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, copper, and zinc.
The researchers noted that autistic children may be more likely to have extreme food phobias due to their unique sensory challenges, which leave them especially sensitive to textures, tastes, and smells.
Autistic children often also cling to routine, so they may favor particular foods.
Experts estimate that one in 100 American children are deficient in vitamin A, while up to 70 percent of kids under 11 could be deficient in vitamin D.
One in five children in the US don’t get enough vitamin C.
Severe nutrient deficiency, called scurvy, is rare in developed countries but appears to be making a comeback in the US.
The condition – which can cause teeth to fall out and extreme pain – tripled between 2016 and 2020, from around eight in every 100,000 kids to nearly 27.
Millions of children in rural America live in food deserts — neighborhoods where there is limited access to healthy, fresh food — who are especially vulnerable.
But while diet has is a major contributor to scurvy, experts say there are other factors in play – including rising rates of autism in minors.
