Colour blindness is mostly hereditary. Colour blindness affects 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women. If you have color blindness (color vision deficiency), it means you see colors differently than most people. Most of the time, color vision deficiency makes it hard to tell the difference between certain colors.
What is Colour Blindness?
The condition results from a genetic mutation that affects the photopigments in the eye’s cone cells, which are responsible for color vision. Acquired color blindness can also occur due to certain medical conditions, medications, or eye injuries. While color blindness is typically a lifelong condition, it does not usually cause significant impairment in daily activities.
There are different types of colour blindness, the most common of which is called red/green colour blindness. This doesn’t mean that the person mixes up red and green, rather, they mix up any colours that have red or green as a part of the whole colour. This means that blues and purples ,ay be confused because the person can’t see the red element of these colours. These mix ups can affect the whole colour spectrum and even black can be confused with dark green or dark blue.
Different Types of Colour Blindness.
Red-green color blindness
The most common type of colour blindness, which makes it difficult to tell the difference between red and green. This type is usually inherited and affects mostly males.
Blue-yellow color blindness
Less common than red-green colour blindness, which makes it difficult to tell the difference between blue and yellow. This type affects both males and females.
Complete color blindness
Also known as monochromacy or achromatopsia, this is a rare type of colour blindness that makes it impossible to see colors at all.
Tritanopia
This type of colour blindness makes it difficult to tell the difference between blue and green, purple and red, and yellow and pink. It also makes colours look less bright.
Deuteranopia
This type of colour blindness is a form of red-green colour blindness that makes it difficult to see green.
Protanopia
This type of colour blindness is a form of red-green colour blindness that makes it difficult to see red.
Effects of Colour Blindness
Difficulty distinguishing colours
The most obvious symptom is having trouble telling the difference between colours, especially shades of red and green, or blue and yellow.
Misusing colors
People with colour blindness may use the wrong colours when drawing or painting, or call colours by the wrong name.
Difficulty with tasks
Colour blindness can make it hard to complete tasks that involve sorting colours, or reading coloured work pages.
Career challenges
Colour blindness can make it difficult to enter certain career fields, such as graphic design, marketing, and aviation.
Psychological effects
Colour blindness can cause people to feel self-conscious, frustrated, or teased.
Food preferences
Some foods can look unappealing to people with colour blindness, and children may be fussy about green vegetables.
The effects of colour blindness can be so slight that people only realise later in life that they are colour blind. In severe cases teachers can usually identify the problem at pre-school level. There are a few very rare cases in which a person is unable to see any colour at all.
How to Treat Colour Blindness
There is no cure for inherited colour vision deficiency, but there are ways to help people adjust and cope:
Adjustments
People with colour vision deficiency can learn to use visual cues that don’t rely on colour, or take cues from others.
Spectacles and contacts
Special lenses can help people tell colours apart by increasing the contrast between them.
Apps
Apps like Colour Blind Pal and ColorAssist Lite can label colours in images.
Workplace accommodations
Depending on the job and the severity of the colour vision deficiency, an employer may be able to provide accommodations like colour contrast overlays, labels, or additional training.
Treat underlying conditions
If colour vision deficiency is caused by another health problem or by a medication, treating that condition or changing the medication may help.
Gene therapy
Gene therapy is a promising treatment that involves injecting a functional gene into the retina.
