Color blindness is more common and less serious than you may think. Being completely color blind is very rare; it’s more likely that if someone is color blind they have trouble seeing red, green, blue, or a mix of those colors.
Most color blind problems are genetic and originate at birth; they usually don’t develop later in life (although it does happen sometimes). Color blindness occurs when one of your three types of cone cells is missing or doesn’t work correctly.
Symptoms of color blindness (or color vision problems) include:
- Seeing some colors but not others
- Having difficulty telling a difference between two colors (for example, not being able to differentiate red and green)
- Difficulty noticing the different shades in colors
If you or your child is experiencing any of these symptoms, schedule an appointment with our office. There are tests that we can perform to determine if you’re suffering from color blindness and what, if any, treatment can be done.
If you have an inherited problem, it cannot be treated or corrected, but if your color blindness is coming from a cataract, surgery may correct the problem. Other ways to ease the symptoms of color blindness include:
- Training yourself to look for other visual cues. For example, recognizing that the green light in a stoplight is at the top of the sign, while the red is at the bottom.
- Wearing glasses that block glare can help in some cases, as it is easier to see the contrast in colors without glare inhibiting your vision.
- Colored contact lenses may also help you differentiate or see colors better in some cases.
The first step is to schedule an exam. From there we can determine what, if any, treatment can be done and offer suggestions on ways to manage your color vision problem. If you’re experiencing these symptoms or have been diagnosed with color blindness, share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below. We would love to hear from you!