Can one live with colour blindness all through life? Yes, but there are ways to correct it, suggests Dr Ankur Agarwal.Colour blindness refers to a range of conditions that are characterised by an inability to view certain colours. It occurs when one or more of the cone types are faulty or missing.
This means that you will have difficulty seeing the cone colour that is missing or faulty. A common complaint is the inability to distinguish between certain shades of red and green.
The essential difference between the colour blind and others is the lack of a few cones in the cornea. In other words, having a colour deficit in vision means an inability to discriminate between saturation, brightness and clarity.
There are two types of photo-sensitive receptors in the eyes — rods and cones. Rods function mainly in dim light and provide black-and-white vision while cones support day time vision and perception of colour. A third, much rarer type of photoreceptor, is the photosensitive ganglion cell which is important for reflexive responses to bright daylight.
The retina has an optic nerve too, apart from rods and cones. This nerve aids in the development of the retina and originates as an outgrowth of the brain. It is hence, considered a part of the central nervous system (CNS) and is actually a brain tissue.
For some colour deficient individuals, terms such as red, orange, yellow and green are simply different names of the same colour. The same is true for violet, lavender, purple and blue. Among the colours, the most often confused hues are pink and grey, orange and red, white and green, green and brown, blue, green and grey, green and yellow, brown and maroon, and beige and green.
Pastels and muted ones are difficult to distinguish too. The colour vision defect may be so bad that the affected person cannot distinguish brown socks from green socks, a red traffic light from an amber one or green grass from brown soil by colour alone.
According to a recent survey, 18 million people in India suffer from colour blindness, out of which 3.25 per cent are residents of New Delhi. At the same time, China has 20 million patients, USA, Europe and Canada have 39 million people suffering from this disease.
This data has raised a huge concern. The calibre of people working in the beauty and fashion industry is judged by their ability to recognise and work with colours. Moreover, it’s all the more important for drivers, navigators, pilots etc., to reckon these colours as millions of lives depend on them.
In most cases, this condition is genetic and also can act as a prompter for cataract, glaucoma, diabetes, age-related macular degeneration and optic nerve degeneration. The disease also results due to some medicines reacting with different body parts. About 1 in 10 men have some form of colour blindness. Very few women are colour blind.
The ageing process can be a factor too. With the passing years, we may experience subtle changes in our vision in general, including changes and weakening of colour reception.
Symptoms
*Trouble seeing colours and its brightness the usual way
*Inability to tell the difference between shades of the same or similar colours
*In rare cases, you may see only black, white, and grey
*Rapid, side-to-side eye movements (nystagmus) and other symptoms may occur in severe cases
*Often, the symptoms may be so mild that some people do not know they are colour blind. A parent may notice signs of colour blindness when a child is learning about shades
Diagnosis
There are tests that can measure how well one can recognise different colours. One test involves looking at sets of coloured dots and trying to find a pattern in them, such as a letter or number. The patterns you see help your doctor know which colours you have trouble with.
In another type of test, you arrange coloured chips in order according to how similar the colours are. People with difficulty in this area will not be able to detect the difference in shade.
A colour vision problem can have a big impact on a person’s life and it is important to detect the problem as early as possible. In children, colour vision problems can affect learning abilities and reading development.
A compromised vision may limit one’s career choices. Most experts recommend eye exams for children between ages 3 and 5. Vision screening is recommended for all children at least once before entering school, preferably between the ages of 3 and 4.
Treatment
It is easy to fight this condition at a young age. If diagnosed early, a successful cure is possible. As soon as the symptoms are noticed in a child, consult a doctor.
Very often, such a condition either goes unnoticed or neglected. Visual receptors can help fix the deficit.
Even common forms of blindness such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy can be corrected by targeting the cone cells. There are still questions about safety though.
Creator Public Relations
This means that you will have difficulty seeing the cone colour that is missing or faulty. A common complaint is the inability to distinguish between certain shades of red and green.The essential difference between the colour blind and others is the lack of a few cones in the cornea. In other words, having a colour deficit in vision means an inability to discriminate between saturation, brightness and clarity.
There are two types of photo-sensitive receptors in the eyes — rods and cones. Rods function mainly in dim light and provide black-and-white vision while cones support day time vision and perception of colour. A third, much rarer type of photoreceptor, is the photosensitive ganglion cell which is important for reflexive responses to bright daylight.
The retina has an optic nerve too, apart from rods and cones. This nerve aids in the development of the retina and originates as an outgrowth of the brain. It is hence, considered a part of the central nervous system (CNS) and is actually a brain tissue.
For some colour deficient individuals, terms such as red, orange, yellow and green are simply different names of the same colour. The same is true for violet, lavender, purple and blue. Among the colours, the most often confused hues are pink and grey, orange and red, white and green, green and brown, blue, green and grey, green and yellow, brown and maroon, and beige and green.
Pastels and muted ones are difficult to distinguish too. The colour vision defect may be so bad that the affected person cannot distinguish brown socks from green socks, a red traffic light from an amber one or green grass from brown soil by colour alone.
According to a recent survey, 18 million people in India suffer from colour blindness, out of which 3.25 per cent are residents of New Delhi. At the same time, China has 20 million patients, USA, Europe and Canada have 39 million people suffering from this disease.
This data has raised a huge concern. The calibre of people working in the beauty and fashion industry is judged by their ability to recognise and work with colours. Moreover, it’s all the more important for drivers, navigators, pilots etc., to reckon these colours as millions of lives depend on them.
In most cases, this condition is genetic and also can act as a prompter for cataract, glaucoma, diabetes, age-related macular degeneration and optic nerve degeneration. The disease also results due to some medicines reacting with different body parts. About 1 in 10 men have some form of colour blindness. Very few women are colour blind.
The ageing process can be a factor too. With the passing years, we may experience subtle changes in our vision in general, including changes and weakening of colour reception.
Symptoms
*Trouble seeing colours and its brightness the usual way
*Inability to tell the difference between shades of the same or similar colours
*In rare cases, you may see only black, white, and grey
*Rapid, side-to-side eye movements (nystagmus) and other symptoms may occur in severe cases
*Often, the symptoms may be so mild that some people do not know they are colour blind. A parent may notice signs of colour blindness when a child is learning about shades
Diagnosis
There are tests that can measure how well one can recognise different colours. One test involves looking at sets of coloured dots and trying to find a pattern in them, such as a letter or number. The patterns you see help your doctor know which colours you have trouble with.
In another type of test, you arrange coloured chips in order according to how similar the colours are. People with difficulty in this area will not be able to detect the difference in shade.
A colour vision problem can have a big impact on a person’s life and it is important to detect the problem as early as possible. In children, colour vision problems can affect learning abilities and reading development.
A compromised vision may limit one’s career choices. Most experts recommend eye exams for children between ages 3 and 5. Vision screening is recommended for all children at least once before entering school, preferably between the ages of 3 and 4.
Treatment
It is easy to fight this condition at a young age. If diagnosed early, a successful cure is possible. As soon as the symptoms are noticed in a child, consult a doctor.
Very often, such a condition either goes unnoticed or neglected. Visual receptors can help fix the deficit.
Even common forms of blindness such as age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy can be corrected by targeting the cone cells. There are still questions about safety though.
Creator Public Relations
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