What is Color Blindness?

Published on

January 5, 2022

There are two types of cells in the retina that receive light. Those are rods and cones. So rods are going to be more for dim lighting situations. And cones are going to be more densely populated in the center of your vision. And they're going to be responsible for your color vision. There are red cones, green cones, and blue cones. Most commonly when we talk about color blindness, this is going to be difficulty in seeing red or green. This type of color blindness is most prevalent in men, with approximately 8% of males having some form of color blindness. In more rare cases people will have difficulty with blue as well. In most cases, color blindness is a congenital condition, meaning it's something that you're born with. In some instances, we can also have an acquired color deficiency. And that would be something more associated with pathology, things like macular degeneration, optic nerve diseases, glaucoma, other things like that.

Can you treat congenital color blindness?

With congenital color blindness, there really isn't any treatment, but it's a stable condition. So it's not typically something that we have to worry about. Sometimes it's more of a deficiency, where there may be confusion in red and green but color appreciation otherwise. And then In more severe cases, we may have true color blindness where somebody is unable to differentiate between the colors. So my son Gavin has a condition where he is missing the red and green photo pigment in his cones. And because of that, he's unable to appreciate red or green. So he only sees blues and yellows, although the saturation is different.

What does the world look like to someone with color blindness?

To give you an example of what someone with a red and green colorblindness might see, in the video at 1 minute and 33 seconds, I put the filter in place. What you'll notice when the filter comes into place over the camera is that the coloration of my shirt will change and then the color in the picture will change. So if we remove the filter again, you'll be able to appreciate the reds and the yellows and the hues and then if we put the filter back in place, then you'll see what it would be like for somebody who is missing those colors.

Testimonials

Vision therapy is well worth the response, time and effort. Our Son had a hard time focusing and writing neatly. After vision therapy Seth could complete a task in half the time if previously took. His abilities to focus improved greatly and so did his handwriting.

Also, he was better at listening. As a parent, we wanted learning to be fun for our Son, and vision therapy made this possible.

Amanda T.

Vision Therapy is well worth the expense, time and effort. Our son had a hard time focusing handwriting neatly. After vision therapy Seth could complete a task in half the time it previously took his abilities to focus and improved greatly and so did his handwriting.

Also, he was better at listening. As a parent you wanted learning to be fun for our son and vision therapy made this possible.

Alexa H.

Vision Therapy has given or son the tools he needs to be able to scan and read the written word more effectively and efficiently.

He love working with John and these working sessions give him the motivation to gladly work on his homework assignments.

It amazed us to see the difference in the tracking of his eyes and along a line of it's from the beginning to the end of the treatment.

Dr. McBryar , Kristen and John are all marvelous and we would recommend them to anyone I only wish that we would have found them sooner!

Charlotte M.

Prior to coming to the institute for vision development my son complained of daily headaches. Therapy has eliminated his headaches completely. I love knowing my son is able to learn pain-free for the rest of his life because of the work that has been done over just a few weeks in this office. He he absolutely loved coming that didn't even feel like going to a doctor or therapy. We are grateful for the relief he was able to find by coming here.

Thank you!

Olivia C.

Seems much less frustrated with life

Reads non-stop and fast

Spelling abilities have been hugely improved

Seems much more confident

Thank You!!!

Kelly O.

When we first came to the practice, my son did not have huge issues, but lots of small ones- trouble with reading, sports (hitting the baseball consistently), coordination, etc- that were not easily detectable,but when put together presented issues. The staff here were all very professional and loving towards him. While I was concerned in the reading, my son was concerned with the athletic side. Seeing improvement night off the bat gave him confidence that i have nor seen in him and made him want to not only Come to therapy, but also made him want to work hard. He has surpassed his grade level and above in reading and hit his first home run this year! Thank you!!!