A primary school pupil has reportedly become permanently blind because his picky diet left him without nutrients.
The eight-year-old boy, from Malaysia, has reportedly only eaten chicken nuggets, sausages and biscuits since he was a baby.
The youngster suffered from a serious deficiency of a vitamin essential for maintaining the health of the optic nerves, according to the doctor who revealed the case.
His terrifying ordeal began in a third-grade class in the capital 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 1% of Americans to a lesser extent.
Vitamin A is a key component of rhodopsin, a light-sensitive protein that helps produce pigments in the retina that aid vision in areas of low light.
The boy likely suffered from optic atrophy, which causes the cells of the optic nerve to be destroyed following long-term damage.
Dr Erna Nadia, a Malaysian doctor popular on social media, wrote in a Facebook post: “As a mother… we can’t always cook because we are busy… too bad for this student’s parents …this is not the case.” easy for them to accept.
A boy in Malaysia was left permanently blind after his picky diet left him without enough nutrients (stock image)
She now invites parents to be attentive to the signs of vitamin A deficiency: dry eyes, gray shadows or spots on the whites of the eyes, difficulty seeing at night or in the dark, or even the inability to produce tears.
Foods rich in vitamin A include spinach, carrots, mangoes, papaya, apricots, fish, chicken, eggs and sweet potatoes.
There have been several examples of similar cases in the United States.
Last year, DailyMail.com revealed how a 12-year-old boy from Massachusetts was left blind in similar circumstances.
The child suffered from autism and had an extreme phobia of certain food textures, meaning he lived on a diet of plain hamburgers, ranch fries, donuts and juice boxes.
He had severe deficiencies in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, copper and zinc.
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Researchers noted that children with autism may be more likely to suffer from extreme food phobias due to their unique sensory challenges, which make them particularly sensitive to textures, tastes and smells.
Autistic children often cling to routine and may therefore favor certain foods.
Experts estimate that 1 in 100 American children are vitamin A deficient, while up to 70 percent of children under the age of 11 may be vitamin D deficient.
One in five children in the United States does not get enough vitamin C.
Serious nutritional deficiencies, called scurvy, are rare in developed countries but appear to be making a comeback in the United States.
The disease, which can cause tooth loss and extreme pain, tripled between 2016 and 2020, from around eight children in 100,000 to almost 27.
Millions of children in rural America live in food deserts – neighborhoods where access to fresh, healthy food is limited – and are particularly vulnerable.
But while diet is a major factor in scurvy, experts say other factors come into play, including increasing rates of autism among minors.