Colour blindness

How to Treat Color Blindness

Max. D Gray
By Max. D Gray. Updated: May 31, 2018
How to Treat Color Blindness

Color blindness, also known as color vision deficiency,is an eye disorder that makes it difficult to distinguish the primary colours blue, green and red. This visual impairment is inherited and often arises from a defective X chromosome transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy. For most people who suffer from this disorder, they can live normal lives without any major hindrance, considering that it is only colors or particular shades which they can get confused. Color blindness is often detected between the age of 10 and 20, so it is important to get the appropriate tests when you are young. If you do not know whether you suffer from this eye disorder, keep reading this article from OneHowTo.com, in which we explain what to do with this diagnosis and how to treat color blindness.

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Steps to follow:
1

Detecting if a person has color blindness can be obvious not only for the person with the deficiency, but also for those around them. Visual difficulty may complicate some daily activities such as buying fruit, completing your studies or even some jobs which require color detection as part of their responsibility. Nevertheless, it is not a disease that incapacitates you for every task or most routine activities. It may even be the case that a person comes to be aware of this merely by chance as they have never had to question their own perception before.

How to Treat Color Blindness - Step 1
2

Once visual anomalies have been detected, it is important to see your family doctor or a professional ophthalmologist to diagnose the disorder. Generally, a Ishihara test is usually carried out. This is a medical test carried out with some sheets of paper containing numbers made up of different coloured dots. If your eyesight is regular, you will be able to distinguish the number or figure, whereas someone with color blindness will not. Have a look at the picture below and see if you are able to detect the number 10, your eyesight is fine. If not, you might want to see a doctor for more tests.

How to Treat Color Blindness - Step 2
3

If these medical tests reveal a congenital color blindness diagnosis, it is time to act. While there is no cure for this disorder, nor is it considered a significant disability, there are methods that can be used to help you live with the deficiency without it impeding your life in a major way.

4

One of the best resources to treat color blindness is the use of special lenses. These lenses which have a filter designed to alter the spectrum of light so that the eye receives similar stimuli to those received by a regular eye. Doing so will help improve color blindness and make vision more normal. With these special lenses, colour blind individuals will be able to see more colours and shades which, without them, would be impossible. Corrective glasses are a great option as they are suitable for 80% of colour blindness cases.

How to Treat Color Blindness - Step 4
5

As mentioned above, colour blindness is not a serious disorder, nor does it cause significant difficulties in everyday life. However, it is very important to identify eye problems in a timely fashion as they can be decisive when carrying out certain activities, studies or work. This is especially the case for anything that is related to light or light signals, such as obtaining a driving license or becoming an air traffic controller.

6

Approximately 1 in 12 men are color blind, but it is much less common for women as only about 1 in 200 have color deficiency. This is because men only have one X chromosome, whereas women have two. For a woman to be color blind they would need to have both X chromosomes as carriers, which is significantly less likely. There are some myths about what types of profession which allow you to work as someone who is color deficient. Depending on your level of deficiency, it is still possible to be an airline pilot, fireman or police officer, although in severe cases they can pose too great an impediment to the job.

7

If you notice any abnormalities in your eyes, always go to your trusted ophthalmologist. He/she will tell you the steps needed to overcome this eye disorder. If you want to know more about colour blindness, we suggest casting an eye over the following articles: Is Color Blindness Hereditary?

This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.

If you want to read similar articles to How to Treat Color Blindness, we recommend you visit our Diseases & secondary effects category.

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How to Treat Color Blindness