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Self imposed nutritional deficits cause blindness in teen

GFinDC

By GFinDC
in Related Issues & Disorders

Recommended Posts

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-49551337

Not really a related condition to celiac but interesting as it involves nutritional deficits caused by eating a limited diet.

Teenager 'blind' from living off crisps and chips

By Michelle RobertsHealth editor, BBC News online
 

Experts are warning about the risks of extreme fussy eating after a teenager developed permanent sight loss after living on a diet of chips and crisps.

Eye doctors in Bristol cared for the 17-year-old after his vision had deteriorated to the point of blindness.

Since leaving primary school, the teen had been eating only French fries, Pringles and white bread, as well as an occasional slice of ham or a sausage.

Tests revealed he had severe vitamin deficiencies and malnutrition damage.

...article continues

Anyway, just shows another danger of eating white bread.... :)

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kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

As a Celiac - I guess I won’t go blind!  Can’t eat Pringle’s, white bread & most French fries!  ?

Ennis-TX Grand Master
Ennis-TX
Posted

I read this article yesterday lol. I know quite a few people that live off that garbage...hell even my cousin feeds his 2 daughters that diet along with pizza roles and soda....guy is a single father and can not cook.
-_- I do not understand why so many people can't try eating healthy or fixing proper meals.

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted
11 minutes ago, Ennis_TX said:

I read this article yesterday lol. I know quite a few people that live off that garbage...hell even my cousin feeds his 2 daughters that diet along with pizza roles and soda....guy is a single father and can not cook.
-_- I do not understand why so many people can't try eating healthy or fixing proper meals.

Or add some carrot sticks and an apple to the pizza rolls meal?  

cyclinglady Grand Master
cyclinglady
Posted

Hey, why wasn’t social services called?  This happened in the UK.  We know they offer a wide variety of services.    How could parents do this?  Wouldn’t they be charged with neglect?  

GFinDC Veteran
GFinDC
Posted
  • Author

All good questions CL.  The article doesn't go into all the details.  But it does say the kid was given a vitamin regimen to follow, and didn't do it.  The article also said he refused foods without a certain texture.  So I am thinking maybe he has some kind of autism or other condition that affects his perception of food.  Lots of room for guess work since the details weren't provided.

Posterboy Mentor
Posterboy
Posted

GFinDC,

I saw this article too and thought it was interesting but I have had a bad week....

trying to  nurse my dog back to health after a surgery to remove a lymphoma...

Now we wait to find out about the biopsy to see if it is only going to be a bad week or a bad couple months...

About the article you cited....everybody knows' I have studied a lot about Niacin....but I am really beginning to think I was wrong....

Alot of my recent research has put me on to Riboflavin aka B-2.

The results the teen experienced could be explained by being low in Riboflavin...

It is thought supplementing with B-2 can help cataracts....

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-957/riboflavin

I had a lot of the symptom's they mention (once) and my brothers went on to develop cataract's but because I supplemented with a B-complex ....I believe it has helped protect me from Cataracts so far...

I also found taking Beta Carotene...helped alot of my night vision issues (Halos around lights)....I dont' know if they are related or not...but they might bee.

I hope this is helpful but it is not medical advise.

Posterboy,

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kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted
1 hour ago, Posterboy said:

GFinDC,

I saw this article too and thought it was interesting but I have had a bad week....

trying to  nurse my dog back to health after a surgery to remove a lymphoma...

Now we wait to find out about the biopsy to see if it is only going to be a bad week or a bad couple months...

About the article you cited....everybody knows' I have studied a lot about Niacin....but I am really beginning to think I was wrong....

Alot of my recent research has put me on to Riboflavin aka B-2.

The results the teen experienced could be explained by being low in Riboflavin...

It is thought supplementing with B-2 can help cataracts....

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-957/riboflavin

I had a lot of the symptom's they mention (once) and my brothers went on to develop cataract's but because I supplemented with a B-complex ....I believe it has helped protect me from Cataracts so far...

I also found taking Beta Carotene...helped alot of my night vision issues (Halos around lights)....I dont' know if they are related or not...but they might bee.

I hope this is helpful but it is not medical advise.

Posterboy,

Really?  Once again you bring it down to one  vitamin?  Now it’s B2?  The guy didn’t eat a lot of vitamins and minerals or protein or anything. Not sure how you would want to say it was just 1 that he was missing.  

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

The young man ate white bread. Isn't that fortified with B vitamins? If it was one vitamin (doubtful) that he lacked that caused the blindness wouldn't vit A be the more likely one?

Posterboy- did you mean he had a lipoma that was removed? Or did you mean they did a biopsy of a lymph gland? If lipoma rest easy because they are usually made of fatty tissue and rarely cancerous. I hope your fur friend heals quickly.

Posterboy Mentor
Posterboy
Posted
13 hours ago, ravenwoodglass said:

Posterboy- did you mean he had a lipoma that was removed? Or did you mean they did a biopsy of a lymph gland? If lipoma rest easy because they are usually made of fatty tissue and rarely cancerous. I hope your fur friend heals quickly.

Ravenwoodglass,

I think they did a biopsy of a removed tumor???

It might of started out as a lipoma....

Who knows' ...I only know it was on his back...and stable for the last couple years...

they said to "wait and watch" and so when it begin growing ...I had them look at it...and they said I could wait till it got bigger...when it started leaking...I became concerned...when it burst it was the weekend and I couldn't get to the vet for almost 72 hours...(I ask the vet) about about the emergency services vet...but they didn't do surgeries.

he was sick from it over the holiday and I had to have it removed...If I could of got in  when it first started to show him pain...I would of felt a lot better about it.

I hope to know the results in about a week from now...he is acting better...because he is not soo  sick now...so hopefully that is a good sign...

I was really concerned last week....he still paints...and we take slower walks ...but he is feeling better....I can tell (at least) while the pain meds lasts he is not feeling any pain right now....

I will be out of meds for him next week....so I will have to wait and see what they (vet) tells me/us...and what he (dog) tells me..

Thanks for your well wishes.

Posterboy,

Posterboy Mentor
Posterboy
Posted
21 hours ago, kareng said:

Really?  Once again you bring it down to one  vitamin?  Now it’s B2?  The guy didn’t eat a lot of vitamins and minerals or protein or anything. Not sure how you would want to say it was just 1 that he was missing.  

Kareng and Ravenwoodglass et Al,

No he wasn't missing just one vitamin...that why I said taking a B-complex helped me...and Beta Carotene ...helped my remaining night vision (halo problems)

Because B-Vitamins get low in groups like homocysteine (B-6, B-12, Folic Acid) but I do think there is good suspicion the primary cause of probably cataracts was B-2....

I will try and be brief...(for me) anyway....always something going wrong these days...today I having car trouble...

I had to go back and reread the article to confirm my hunch...the primary food was Chips, and Crisps,,,not fish and chips.... these are primary Potatoes....sourcesss...

and Potatoes (when eat only by themself) will make some one low in Riboflavin...

https://healthfully.com/353125-vitamins-minerals-in-potatoes.html

quoting the RDA for Potatoes from above article "Potatoes provide 6 percent of the RDI of folate and 2 percent of riboflavin."

Riboflavin is used to treat Corneal problems...

https://www.webmd.com/eye-health/corneal-cross-linking-for-keratoconus#1

It might of been selenium....but you got to start somewhere...

https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/zinc-selenium-eyesight-8608.html

And since Riboflavin is used in the treatment of vision issues I choose B-2....

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step" as the proverb goes...

or it could of been multiple B-Vitamins who knows? they didn't test for it...because they didn't know to look for it apparently..

Here is a couple good links about Vitamins and eye vision problems.

https://www.livestrong.com/article/507362-seeing-spots-as-a-symptom-of-vitamin-deficiency/

https://www.livestrong.com/article/445494-vitamin-b-deficiencies-and-eyes/

As always, I hope this is helpful but it is not medical advise.

Posterboy,

Posterboy Mentor
Posterboy
Posted

Et al,

This is an addendum....because the other one was getting too long...

If he had only eaten some dairy...it might of protected him some from these possible complications...Dairy (whole milk) especially is a good source of Riboflavin but only if it is in an opaque container...

see this link for more information about Riboflavin...

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Riboflavin-HealthProfessional/

they mention these fact(s) of how light degrades riboflavin content of whole milk...

Here is a nice article about this association....

https://www.dairyfoods.com/articles/83251-new-study-validates-light-blocking-efforts?v=preview

any very restrictive diet can causes similar heath issues...even when we don't realize it sometimes...

think h.w. bush and his goiter problems and his refusal to eat broccoli...etc.

but you don't even have to be eating very restrictively to get low in Riboflavin...sometimes avoid dairy in general might be enough...

but because B-2 is water soluble the national institutes of health say even Vegetarian Athletes can develop a Riboflavin deficiency (see above health fact statement) especially if they are avoiding dairy in their diets.

Again I hope this is helpful but it is not medical advise.

I must stop for now..I have car problems... and dog problems... and they need my immediate attention.

Posterboy,

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

PB - this wasn’t a post asking for “advise” or advice.  And to pick 1 thing for the reasons why this guy has poor health is very short sighted.  

And making 2 long posts instead of 1 extra long post is still way too long.  It doesn’t fool me.  

Scott Adams Grand Master
Scott Adams
Posted

@Posterboy I don't think we need to over analyze why someone could go blind from such a restricted diet...sure, vitamin & mineral deficiencies. Most celiacs should probably take a good B complex to avoid nutrient deficiencies. The solution here is far simpler though...the kid needed to eat some variety...what happened to parenting here, that is the real issue!

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