What is color blindness? Causes, symptoms and prevention

Humans possess one of the best eyes in nature. However, not everyone is lucky enough to own a pair of eyes that can see the colorful world, there are people who see everything around with a much darker color – that’s due to the “color blindness” disease. cause.

People with mild color blindness are often discovered by accident because it does not affect their daily life much.

What is color blindness?

Color blindness is also known as chromosomal disorder. It is a condition in which the eye cannot distinguish the colors of objects such as red, green, or blue, or when mixing these colors together.

Depending on the extent to which the patient is able to partially perceive colors or not at all. This eye disease does not affect health, but people with color blindness will face many inconveniences in life and work and can be passed on to the next generation.

Color blindness is also known as chromosomal disorder

Causes of color blindness

According to BS CK II. Nguyen Do Thanh Lam, Refractive Department – Saigon Eye Hospital , color blindness occurs when patients have problems with pigment in the eyes, this is also the leading cause of color blindness.

Structurally, color analysis is mainly performed by cones concentrated in the central fossa of the retina. Color blindness occurs when these cells lose the ability to distinguish colors. In addition, some other possible causes of color blindness are:

Genetic disorder

This congenital color blindness is more common in men than in women, because color blindness is an inherited disease that is linked to a pair of sex chromosomes.

Usually you will lose the ability to see red-green, while blue-yellow color blindness is less common. The disease may present as mild, moderate or severe. Both eyes are likely to be affected, and the severity usually won’t change throughout life.

Genetic disorder

Side effects of some drugs

Some medicines contain unwanted side effects, which can change your ability to distinguish colors. For example, some drugs used to treat heart disease, high blood pressure, infections, neurological disorders, and psychological problems.

Side effects of some drugs

Complications from some other chronic diseases

If you have conditions such as diabetes, glaucoma, macular degeneration, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, chronic alcoholism, leukemia, and sickle cell anemia, you may also be colorblind.

These diseases usually affect one eye, but can sometimes affect both eyes. After treatment of the above diseases, color blindness can be reduced or restored.

Aging condition

Vision and color discrimination will also slowly decline as part of aging, causing color blindness in the elderly.

Symptoms of color blindness

Common signs and symptoms of people with color blindness are:

• Certain colors are indistinguishable , but others are recognizable.
• There is a problem with vision, but most people do not notice it.
• At a mild level, the patient has difficulty distinguishing between green – red, blue – yellow , and in severe cases, it is impossible to distinguish different colors from each other.
• Only black, white and gray can be seen but this is very rare.
• Only a few shades can be seen while the average person can see thousands of different shades.

Symptoms of color blindness

How to overcome color blindness

Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for color blindness. However, there are still a few measures that can overcome and reduce the symptoms of color blindness such as:

• Notify the teacher in charge if the child is color blind to receive support from the school and limit the difficulties that the child will have in distinguishing colors.
• If you have color blindness as a side effect of medication or as a complication of a chronic medical condition, stopping the medication and treating the underlying condition can also help reduce your color blindness symptoms.
• Using a color filter – a new type of glass developed by scientists to increase the contrast between colors that the patient cannot distinguish. However, it also only plays a role in helping to reduce symptoms, not treating the root cause of color blindness.
• It is important for people with color blindness, especially color blindness, to develop the habit of living with color blindness: If you cannot distinguish the colors of traffic lights, keep in mind the order of the lights. color to comply with the law and drive safely on the road.
• Today’s smartphone apps can also make it easier for people with color blindness to recognize colors.

How to overcome color blindness

How to prevent color blindness

To partially prevent color blindness, patients should:

• Although there is no cure for hereditary color blindness, prenatal diagnosis can prevent future children from getting the disease: Check your health, chromosome set before you get married to see if anyone has it.
• Eye protection must be worn when in contact with chemicals.
• Avoid injury to the eyes and head , causing damage to vision.
• Absolutely do not arbitrarily use the drug but must follow the doctor’s prescription.
• If there is any abnormality in vision, it is necessary to see a doctor for timely examination , diagnosis and treatment.
• Comprehensive testing of children’s eyesight and color discrimination before starting school.

How to prevent color blindness

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Source: Vinmec

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