According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), color blindness is the inability to see colors in the normal/expected/usual way. A report published by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) shows that up to 32 million American have some form of colorblindness. In addition, colorblindness tends to affect men. The aforementioned WSJ report states that eight percent of American men have this condition compared to just 0.5% of women. Here is some more information about this topic:
Challenges faced by colorblind people
Although colorblindness is not a life threatening condition, it can make daily tasks a bit challenging. For example, a colorblind person will have difficulties differentiating traffic light colors. What’s more, such a person would not qualify to train and become a pilot. At this point, it is worth noting that many colorblind people are not even aware that they cannot perceive colors like other people.
Causes
The main cause of color blindness is a genetic defect in the color-sensing cells. Most colorblind people struggle to discern green or red colors.
Types of color blindness
Red-green color vision deficiency is by far the most common type of colorblindness and it affects one in every eight men and one in every two hundred and thirty women. People with this condition tend to have 75% green color vision deficiency and 25% red color vision deficiency. Other types of color¬ vision deficiency include blue-yellow colorblindness and achromatopsia, which is the inability to see any color.
Symptoms
A report published by the NIH states that color blindness symptoms vary from one person to the next, but the common symptoms generally include:
- Difficulty seeing colors
- Difficulty discerning the brightness of colors
- Colors appearing washed out
- Inability to tell difference between shades/hues of same color
- Inability to see any color
Color blindness diagnosis
Eye specialists use various visual tests to diagnose color blindness. The most common test involves the use of a book with various patterns of colored dots. For instance, a page may have the number 42 hidden among colored dots. Of course, it is wise to undertake color-vision tests at an early age. If you are looking for an eye specialist, Fort Worth is a good place to start.
Treatment
The American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) claims that color blindness has no cure. Nevertheless, you could go for contact lenses or glasses specifically designed for colorblind people. Additionally, some mobile app developers have also come up with mobile device applications that allow colorblind people to differentiate colors. It is important to note that colorblindness does not cause other visual health problems or deterioration of one’s visual acuity over time.
In conclusion, colorblindness affects about eight percent of American men. Some common symptoms of this condition include difficulty seeing colors and inability to tell difference between shades of the same color. Currently, there is no known cure for colorblindness, which is unfortunate because people who suffer from this condition are generally unable to work as pilots, painters, or fashion designers.
Since color blindness is usually diagnosed and tested by an eye specialist, contacting us at Marvel Eye Center today will be a good start in discovering if you have this condition. 817-346-7333
