Eating Momo Causes Memory Loss, Liver Failure In 10-Year-Old Delhi Girl

New Delhi: A 10-year-old girl from Delhi's Burari neighbourhood was admitted to hospital in a critical state after being diagnosed with acute liver failure, a condition doctors believe was triggered by her habit of regularly consuming street food, particularly momos sold by local vendors. 

The girl's parents, who both go out to work, were not aware what their daughter was eating during the day. In their absence, the child had developed a routine of buying momo and other street food from nearby vendors, funded by pocket money her grandfather gave her.

The habit went undetected for weeks, during which her health was quietly deteriorating.

Her parents first noticed something was wrong when the girl began appearing unusually tired and started becoming forgetful. The symptoms did not stay mild for long. She soon lost coordination, struggled to walk, and the stopped recognising the faces of people around her.

The family rushed her to hospital, where tests revealed her liver had largely ceased to function. The organ failure was causing toxic substances to accumulate in her blood, which in turn travelled to the brain and caused it to swell, a condition known medically as hepatic encephalopathy, which accounted for her neurological symptoms.

The child has since recovered, thanks to a timely medical intervention that spared her from needing a liver transplant.

Doctors initially assessed that a liver transplant might be unavoidable. However, the medical team chose to first attempt plasmapheresis, a treatment in which the patient's blood is processed to strip out harmful substances and injecting pure plasma into the body.

The procedure, which speeds up the recovery of liver, worked and the girl gradually regained awareness, her liver began showing signs of recovery. 

Her ability to walk and remember also returned. She continues to be monitored by doctors but is no longer in danger.

Also Read- 'Naari Apna Apmaan Kabhi Nahi Bhulti': PM Modi Apologises To Women After Reservation Bill Fails To Pass In Parliament