Color blindness causes

Introduction to color blindness

Color blindness is not always an inherited condition, it can also be acquired in the some cases.

It is usually a form of genetic disorder that will cause a person to be unable to see certain colors or distinguish between colors.

The severity of the condition will usually vary on a personal basis, and the colors that are usually associated with the disorder are red and green, which can often appear to be a particular shade of brown.

It is very rare that a person will have problems with telling the difference between black and white, however.

There are other causes of color blindness that are not genetic, however. Some people are born with it, but others can develop it through life. In some cases, when a person develops color blindness it only affects one eye.

Causes

The eye has cells that are called photoreceptors and are located in the retina of the eye, and there are two types – rods and cones. The rods are used for dim light and cannot distinguish between colors, but the cones detect pigments and respond to colors.

People who are colorblind usually have a smaller number of cones and these that remain have a hard time detecting colors and registering them in the brain correctly.

Usually the cause is genetic. The gene that is affected is carried by an X-chromosome, therefore, there are greater chances that a male will be colorblind.

If it is not genetic, there are other potential causes of colorblindness. One is Parkinson’s disease, which is a neurological disorder that makes nerves stop working. Some of the light-sensitive nerves in the retina could be affected by the disease and colorblindness could result.

A cataract could also lead to colorblindness. When the eye becomes cloudy from the cataract, the color vision could be affected as well.

However, through cataract surgery, this can be remedied completely.

Other diseases that can affect the vision and color are diabetes, multiple sclerosis, leukemia, sickle cell anemia and Alzheimer’s.

People who are alcoholics could also develop colorblindness, because they can cause damage to the retinal cells. Other common causes include injury and aging as well.

Treatments

The fact is that there is still no real cure for colorblindness and research is ongoing. However, there are therapies that can be used to try and correct these vision problems.

There are also special lenses that can be used that will bring an improvement in color perception and they are used just like regular contact lenses are used.

However, people can live normally with colorblindness, because their vision is normal for the most part. They can learn how understand how they see each color and be able to tell them apart, however, police officers, fire fighters and medical professionals are not allowed to be colorblind, but there are many other jobs and activities which colorblind people will be able to do with no problem.