Color blindness is a common condition found mainly in men. The general concept of color blindness is not entirely correct. Color blindness usually does not make people unable to see any colors. It is actually a color vision deficiency. This is because people with this deficiency see colors, but less than others.
In most cases, color blindness is an inherited disorder that is passed from mother to child. Others get color blindness because of a medical condition or medication that causes damage to the retina of the eye. The retina is the back of the eye, where two types of light-sensitive cells are found. These light-sensitive cells are called “rods” and “cones.” The cones can detect three colors: red, green and blue. The type of color blindness you have depends on how well the three cones work and how well they work.
There are several types of color blindness. In each type, the cones work somewhat differently. Below is an overview of each.
Trichromatism
People with normal color vision use all three types of cones to help distinguish between colors and their shades. This is called trichromatism. There are variants of trichromatism that affect color vision. These are the following:
- Anomalous trichromatism: all three cones are functional, but one has a small anomaly that results in a wide range of color perception depending on the defective cone.
- Protanomaly: is the reduced ability to see the color red.
- Deuteranomaly: it is the most frequent type. It is the reduced ability to see the color green.
- Tritanomaly: it is very rare. It is the reduced ability to see the color blue.
People who have a reduced ability to see reds and greens are colorblind contacts to red and green. These people have difficulty differentiating between red, green, brown, orange, yellow and gray. They also tend to confuse blues with violets.
Dichromatism
Dichromats have two types of cones that capture colors and one that does not. Types of dichromatism include the following:
- Protanopia: is the inability to see the color red and includes the confusion of dark tones, such as dark red and black.
- Deuteranopia: is the inability to see the color green and includes the confusion of midtones of red that are similar to green and orange.
- Tritanopia: is the inability to see the color blue.
People who cannot see reds and greens perceive most colors as green, blue, or cloudy yellow.
Monochrome
Monochromic is very rare. People with this disease can only see shades of gray without any other colors, much like black and white film.
Color blindness screening is not include in routine exams. If a child has difficulty distinguishing shades of colors or is performing poorly in school, they may be test. Currently, for those who suffer from inherited forms, there are no effective treatments. Some people wear colored glasses, but for others it is more difficult to wear them. Acquired color blindness can sometimes be treat by changing medications, stopping medications, or treating the condition causing the deficiency.
At the moment, the best thing a color blind person can do is try to live with the disease. To a certain extent, it is true that a person who cannot see colors does not know what he is missing. However, in a world of colors, not being able to see those makes life difficult to navigate. Take a minute to look around you and imagine what it would be like to see everything in shades of the same color or no color at all.
This affects many aspects of everyday life. It can prevent a person from getting the job they want, such as chef, pilot, graphic designer, or doctor. For those who are employ, this deficiency can cause problems in the workplace. For example, color documents that contain graphics can lead to confusion or misunderstanding. New hires may go to great lengths to hide their deficiency until they feel comfortable enough among their peers, for fear of being fire. Some people may have difficulty with the red and green lights of traffic lights, while others have difficulty differentiating the turn signals of cars.
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