A 12-year-old boy in Massachusetts was left permanently blind because his diet of only junk food lacked nutrients.
The boy suffers from autism and has an extreme phobia of certain food textures, so he lived on a diet of plain hamburgers, ranch fries, donuts, and juice boxes.
He started having eye problems earlier this year, his vision “darkens” in the morning and evening and improves only during the day.
But after six weeks he could no longer walk without leaning on his parents and frequently bumped into doors and walls.
One night he woke up screaming that he couldn’t see.
The teenager was admitted to hospital where doctors discovered his diet had left him severely deficient in vital nutrients that keep the optic nerves healthy.
Despite supplements and feeding therapy, experts write in a american medical journal They fear that the child’s vision loss will be permanent.
A 12-year-old autistic boy in Massachusetts suffered severe vision loss after his limited diet of hamburgers, donuts, French fries and juice boxes led to nutrient deficiencies.
Doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital say the boy has avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), an eating disorder that affects about half of autistic children to varying degrees.
The disorder, which is new but growing, causes about one in 200 Americans to restrict their food variety due to anxiety or unwanted color, taste, texture or smell.
The image above shows the horizontal ridges on the toenails of a 12-year-old American boy, as they had become brittle due to multiple deficiencies of vital nutrients.
Although the child had a traumatic birth, arrived two months early and suffered from oxygen deprivation, he had no underlying conditions other than autism and ADHD. He had speech, cognitive and motor delays.
Two days before he was hospitalized, his parents said he had swelling and scabs around his eyes. Sometimes they noticed him looking at the wall instead of at the TV.
The boy’s parents described him as a “picky eater” and said he avoided trying new foods or vitamins because he didn’t like the texture.
Doctors discovered that the boy had suffered optic atrophy, which causes the cells of the optic nerve to waste away due to long-term damage.
They believe the vision loss was due to severe deficiencies of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, copper and zinc due to the boy’s limited diet.
Bella Mildon, an autistic preteen from the United Kingdom, became blind after her limited diet of Marmite sandwiches, chips and water caused her to develop a vitamin A deficiency. She is pictured above before and after blindness.
Vitamin A deficiency in particular is one of the most common causes of childhood blindness in the US.
The nutrient is a key component of rhodopsin, a light-sensitive protein that helps produce pigments in the retina, which help with vision in low-light areas.
Vitamin D helps the eyes produce tears, which are crucial for preventing dryness and removing dirt. Both copper and zinc protect the cells and structure of the retina, and vitamin C helps protect the eyes against damage from ultraviolet (UV) light.
While vitamin A deficiency affects only one in 100 Americans, experts estimate that up to 70 percent of children under age 11 may be deficient in vitamin D.
One in five children in the United States does not get enough vitamin C, although a serious deficiency, called scurvy, is exceptionally rare in developed countries.
However, recent data suggests that scurvy rates have tripled from eight in every 100,000 children in 2016 to 27 in every 100,000 in 2020, causing tooth loss, brittle hair, flaky skin, problems gaining weight and anemia.
Ella Witrock, a 12-year-old girl from Pennsylvania, developed ARFID when she was seven years old. He suffered severe malnutrition due to an extreme fear of vomiting.
The boy’s lack of nutrients also caused him to develop horizontal ridges on his toenails, as they had become brittle.
Researchers noted that autistic children may be more likely to have ARFID and other food problems due to their unique sensory challenges, which leave them especially sensitive to textures, tastes and smells.
Autistic children also tend to stick to routine, so they may prefer certain foods.
The Massachusetts boy received supplements of vitamins A, C, D and K, as well as calcium, thiamine, copper and zinc, while in the hospital.
The boy’s nutrient levels normalized and he began eating lettuce and cheese on his burgers after the family began behavioral therapy.
His parents added a clear supplement to his juice boxes, although he began to reject them after a few weeks.
The researchers wrote: ‘Unfortunately, the patient’s optic atrophy was severe.
«This serious degree of vision loss cannot be reversed when it is detected at such an advanced stage. If detected earlier in the course of the disease, reversing the nutritional deficit can lead to some improvements in vision.’