What Is Color Blindness?

Types of Color Blindness

Color blindness occurs due to the absence or malfunction of certain color-detecting cells in the eye, known as cones. However, there are several types of color blindness:

Red-green color blindness 

This is the most common type of color blindness and can be further divided into two types: protanopia, which involves an absence of red cones, and deuteranopia, which involves an absence of green cones. 

People with red-green color blindness may struggle to distinguish between reds, greens, and oranges, which can impact activities like choosing ripe fruits and reading traffic lights.

Blue-yellow color blindness

Also known as tritanopia, this type of color blindness is less common and affects the blue cones in the eye. Individuals with this condition have difficulty distinguishing between blues and yellows, as well as greens and pinks. 

This type of color blindness can affect tasks like reading maps and working with digital displays.

Complete color deficiency 

Achromatopsia is a rare condition where individuals see no color at all, perceiving the world in shades of gray. It can also cause light sensitivity and blurry vision. It occurs when none of the cone cells function properly, and it significantly impacts daily life. 

What Causes Color Blindness?

Color blindness is usually inherited from birth and caused by an X-linked recessive gene. Men are at higher risk if their mother is a carrier or color blind due to an X-chromosome mutation. 

If you haven’t had color blindness since birth, it can also be caused by: 

• Diabetes
• Glaucoma
• Macular degeneration
• Alzheimer's
• Cataracts
• Parkinson’s
• Multiple sclerosis
• Chronic alcoholism
• Leukemia
• Sickle cell anemia
• Aging
• Chemical exposure
• Certain medications

If you develop symptoms of color blindness after seeing a full range of colors, schedule an appointment with your eye doctor immediately. Any sudden loss of color vision could be an indicator of several underlying health conditions. A comprehensive eye exam can help diagnose the problem and get you the right treatment before it becomes a serious issue.

How Is Color Blindness Treated?

While color blindness cannot be cured, an optometrist can help you determine the best way to adapt to and manage the condition effectively. 

Your eye doctor might recommend the following: 

• Medications: Doctors may prescribe medications to address underlying conditions that contribute to color vision issues. However, there are no medications for genetic color blindness.
• Color blindness glasses: These specially designed glasses can enhance color perception by filtering certain wavelengths of light.
• Apps: Various apps and tools for computers and smartphones help identify colors for certain tasks, like matching clothing or reading a graph.
• Gene therapy: This experimental approach, which is currently being tested, aims to correct the genetic mutations causing color blindness, potentially restoring normal color vision.

While complete restoration of color vision isn't possible yet, these treatments and tools can improve your quality of life.