KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (WKRC) — A child went permanently blind due to an unhealthy diet.

According to iHeart, an eight-year-old Malaysian boy went blind due to a poor diet since he was an infant.

The child was said to have had a diet consisting of only chicken nuggets, sausages and cookies, the outlet reported.

“As a mother, we can’t always cook because we are busy. Pity for the parents of this student. It is not easy for them to accept,” Dr. Erna Nadia, a popular Malay doctor with a large following on social media, wrote on Facebook.

The Daily Mail reported that the boy’s instructors became aware of the problem after he asked, “Teacher, why can’t I see anything?”

He was taken to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with severe vitamin A deficiency, according to The Daily Mail, which noted that the condition affects 1% of Americans, although to a lesser extent.

The publication reported that the child likely suffered from optic atrophy, which, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is a condition that “happens because of long-term damage to optic nerve fibers from many different causes,” which can lead to “irreversible issues with vision, including blindness … ” READ MORE.

What Is Optic Atrophy?

CLEVELAND CLINIC – Optic atrophy refers to damage to your optic nerve, which carries impulses from your eye to your brain. Optic atrophy can lead to permanent vision loss. Possible causes include infections, inflammation and lack of blood flow. Providers can treat the causes, which can help to stop the progression of the disease.

Optic atrophy is a condition that affects the cells of your optic nerve, which carries impulses from your eye to your brain. “Atrophy” means to waste away or deteriorate. Optic nerve atrophy is another name for optic atrophy, and it’s a serious condition.

Atrophy of the optic nerve is a condition that happens because of long-term damage to optic nerve fibers from many different causes. Optic atrophy can cause irreversible issues with vision, including blindness.

Symptoms and Causes

What are the symptoms of optic atrophy?

Optic atrophy symptoms relate to changes in vision, including:

• Blurred vision or a reduction in sharpness of vision.
• Difficulties with peripheral vision.
• Difficulties with color vision.

What causes optic atrophy?

Nerve fibers that transmit impulses to your brain make up your optic nerve. In the case of optic atrophy, something is interfering with your optic nerve’s ability to transmit these impulses. Many factors can cause this interference, including:

• Lack of proper blood flow (vascular/ischemia): This is the most common cause of optic nerve atrophy.
• Conditions that you’re born with or inherit (congenital): One condition, Leber hereditary optic neuropathy, causes you to lose vision in one eye first and then the other.
• Pressure from outside (extrinsic compression) and inside the nerve (intrinsic compression):
• The pressure can come from tumors. Glaucoma can damage your optic nerve and sometimes includes high eye pressure (intraocular pressure).
• Damage from inflammation, either from other diseases or swelling in the optic nerve itself: One cause is optic neuritis, which is inflammation of your optic nerve. Another is hydrocephalus, or fluid collection in your brain.
• Damage from infections: These infections can include diseases like syphilis and measles.
  Trauma (eye injury): Eye injuries can happen in many ways, including industrial or car accidents, sports or fighting.
• Damage from diseases of the retina: Retinal diseases include diabetes-related retinopathy and retinal vein occlusion.
• Damage from toxins, nutritional deficits or medications:Optic nerve atrophy from these causes usually affects both eyes. READ MORE.