Color blindness is the inability to distinguish certain colors. People with color blindness usually have difficulty seeing red, green, blue, and yellow. Color blindness is an inherited condition that is usually present from birth. Though it does not in any way affect the health of the eye, color blindness can cause difficulties in the classroom and can prevent individuals from pursuing certain career paths.

What is color blindness?

Color blindness is not actually a form of blindness; rather, it is the inability to see colors in the normal way. The most common type of color blindness is red-green color deficiency, followed by blue-yellow deficiency. Approximately eight percent of men are color blind and approximately five percent of women are color blind.

Symptoms of color blindness

Color blindness can be diagnosed early in life with a standard eye test. People with color blindness still see colors, but may be unable to tell the difference between certain shades of color. Usually parents are the first to diagnose color blindness in their child. In some cases, symptoms of color blindness may be so mild that it is difficult to diagnose the condition.

Sudden loss of color vision may be a sign of an underlying health problem like cataracts. It is important to see a doctor if you develop abrupt problems seeing color.

Causes of color blindness

Color blindness is caused by an absence of color-sensitive pigments in the retina. Most forms of color blindness are inherited, but other causes of color blindness include: 

• Parkinson's disease 
• Cataracts 
• Kallman's syndrome 
• Optic neuropathy 
• Aging 
• Antiepileptic drugs

In rare cases, injury or trauma to the eye can damage vision processing and cause color blindness.

Treatment of color blindness

There is no known cure or treatment for color blindness; however, there are several strategies that can help people cope with color blindness. Special eyeglass lenses can enhance color perception. People can also organize and label clothing to prevent colors clashing. A helpful tip is to remember items by their order rather than their color (for example, distinguishing red and green lights on a stoplight by their position from top to bottom).

It is critical to diagnose color blindness in children as early as possible in order to prevent learning problems in the classroom. Small adjustments in lesson plans and presentations can help children who are color blind learn more effectively in the classroom.