Lucrezia Ciotti Topics Covered
An American child began to experience visual difficulties in both eyes, with symptoms of blurring and hazy vision, until lose la view. He was eating for days only junk food: French fries, hamburger and sweets. The case reported by FanPage.
Only Eats Hamburger and Chips: Child Loses Sight
The term “junk food”, translated from English “junk food“, refers to a category of foods characterized by a high content of salt, simple sugars and fats, but deficient in essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and dietary fiber.
The 12-year-old American boy ate only French fries, hamburgers, ranch dressing, glazed donuts and fruit juice for days, until he permanently lost the sight in both eyes.
“Two days before being admitted to the hospital, his parents had seen him walking, leaning his body against doors and walls, and banging against objects. The night before he was admitted, he woke up screaming and in a panic, because he couldn't see. So his parents took him to the emergency room of this hospital.”. These are the words of the doctors at Boston Children's Hospital, reported in the report published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Child loses sight: investigation into the case
The examination of the fundus would have revealed the presence of pallor of the optic disc in both eyes, while MRI showed a subtle hyperintense signal of the optic nerves, suggesting a possible optic neuropathy.
Optic neuropathy is damage to the optic nerve, which can result from various causes. In the child's case, however, the condition was attributed to a severe nutritional deficiency, especially vitamins A, D and C, as well as copper and zinc, as revealed by laboratory tests.
Child loses sight permanently
Despite drug therapy, the danno to the optic nerve would be permanent:
“This severe degree of vision loss Unfortunately it cannot be reversed when it is discovered at such an advanced stage”, said Dr. Gise.
