Color blindness
Color deficiency; Blindness - color
Signs and Symptoms which indicate that a person may have the disorder.
Symptoms vary from person to person, but may include:
- Trouble seeing colors and the brightness of colors in the usual way
- Inability to tell the difference between shades of the same or similar colors
Often, the symptoms may be so mild that some people do not know they are color blind.
A parent may notice signs of color blindness when a child is learning his or her colors.
The most common colors effected by color blindness are red and green.
Causes of the disorder including details about the genetic abnormality itself.
Color blindness occurs when there is a problem with the color-sensing granules (pigments) in certain nerve cells of the eye. These cells are called cones. They are found in the retina, the light-sensitive layer of tissue that lines the back of the eye.
If just one pigment is missing, you may have trouble telling the difference between red and green. This is the most common type of color blindness. If a different pigment is missing, you may have trouble seeing blue-yellow colors. People with blue-yellow color blindness usually have problems identifying reds and greens, too.
The most severe form of color blindness is achromatopsia. A person with this rare condition cannot see any color, so they see everything in shades of gray. Achromatopsia is often associated with lazy eye, nystagmus (small, jerky eye movements), severe light sensitivity, and extremely poor vision.
Most color blindness is due to a genetic problem. (See: X-linked recessive) About 1 in 10 men have some form of color blindness. Very few women are color blind.
The drug hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) can also cause color blindness. It is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, among other conditions.
Long and Short Term Effects that an affected person may have to deal with.
Possible Treatment options and/or assistance for living with the disorder.
There is no known treatment. However, there are special contact lenses and glasses that may help people with color blindness tell the difference between similar colors.
Signs and tests
Your doctor or eye specialist can check your color vision in several ways. Testing for color blindness is commonly done during an eye exam.