This month a patient asked: “What causes color blindness?”
Dr. Patel answered:
Most problems with color vision are related to a genetic issue. The majority of people who are color blind inherited this trait. However, color blindness may also be the result of aging, glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, injury or a side effect of medications.
Contrary to what is commonly believed, people suffering from color blindness don’t see the world in black and white in a majority of cases. It is far more common people with color blindness have difficulty distinguishing between certain shades or mixtures of red, green or blue. The eyes are made up of three types of cone cells with each cone responsible for a different color. When disease, genetics or injury has affected how the cones function, an individual may experience color blindness.
An optometrist or an ophthalmologist can administer tests to properly diagnose color blindness and discuss treatment options.
The severity of color blindness depends on the person. Some people may see thousands of colors while some may only pick up a few shades. In rare cases, people may only see black, white, and gray.
Although there is no cure for color blindness, treatment may help. For example, if cataracts are the cause of the color blindness, removing the cataract may restore color vision.
