Who knew that being a picky eater could cost a child his sight! I was shocked to read a recent report in Science Daily of a child who lost his central vision to nutritional optic neuropathy. The eye cannot survive on french fries, potato chips, white bread and infrequent servings of ham and sausage (the mainstay of this boy’s diet). This child developed severe vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition from a condition called avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder. His blindness, if caught and treated early, was preventable, but sadly, his condition advanced and destroyed his optic nerve fibers causing irreversible damage and central blindness. The fact that this was a preventable blindness makes it all the more tragic. Much of the world’s blindness is preventable, and like our young man who lost his sight from poor nutrition, most of the world’s blindness is linked to malnourishment. I cannot imagine how the parent of this child feels. Nor can I imagine how mothers worldwide feel when their malnourished babies lose their sight. A simple nutritional deficiency such as Vitamin A deficiency can lead to night blindness and ultimately full blindness. In many cases, the infant or child is consuming enough calories, like our picky eater mentioned earlier, but a malnourished mother’s breast milk is often deficient in Vitamin A and other essential vitamins and minerals. Vitamin A is critical for growth and development, immune function and eye health. Every pediatrician in developed countries prescribes prenatal vitamins to the mother to prevent deficiencies that could harm the baby, prior to birth and after when breastfeeding. Organizations such as UNICEF distribute vitamins to pregnant mothers and young children in impoverished countries but the need is overwhelming, and many remain underserved. The World Health Organization reports that vitamin A deficiency is a leading cause of preventable blindness and death in children and pregnant women. They estimate that 250 million preschool-aged children are affected globally leading to blindness in 250,000 to 500,000 per year. Good nutrition is vital for the developing brains, bodies and eyes of babies and young children, and it continues to play a crucial role in eye health throughout life. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, and high doses can harm the liver. Always check with your doctor before taking supplements. Healthy individuals are advised to eat foods high in vitamin A such as fortified milk, eggs and cheese, or sweet potatoes and carrots.

Deborah Kotob
Pro to Pro Director
[email protected]