Colour blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is a condition that affects 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women in the world. People with colour blindness can see objects and their surroundings clearly but they have difficulty in 'fully' seeing certain colours.
There are many types of colour blindness. The most common type is red/green colour blindness. People with this condition cannot properly see red or green or colours that have red/green in them. For example they might not be able to distinguish between blue and purple because they cannot see the red part of purple. This can affect colours on the whole colour spectrum.
Within the different types of colour blindness there are different severities. It can be mild, moderate or severe. To put this into perspective a person who is moderately colour blind will be able to distinguish about five coloured pencils out of a set of twenty four. Many people who are colour blind do not even realise it until after leaving secondary school.
Colour blindness is a genetic condition. It is inherited from your parents, particularly red/green CVD and blue CVD. The gene that causes colour blindness is found on the x chromosome which is why so many more men have it than women. The severity of inherited colour blindness will stay the same throughout your life, it will not worsen or get better.
Lindsay, whose Grandfather had monochromacy said, "I would feel really sorry for someone suffering from colour blindness. The worst part is it must be really hard to explain and no one else would be able to properly understand them."
There is a second type of colour blindness called 'acquired colour vision deficiency.' This type of CVD can be caused by chronic illnesses like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, leukemia or many others. Accidents or strokes that damage parts of your brain or eye can lead to CVD. Certain medications and exposure to industrial chemicals like carbon monoxide can also lead to CVD. Age can also be a factor as people over 60 are at a higher risk. Acquired colour blindness can vary over time, it can stay the same, improve or your condition could deteriorate quickly.
Currently there is no treatment or cure for CVD. There are special colour filters or contact lenses that can help to differenciate between some colours, however they get mixed feedback because it can actually confuse some people even more. There is hope, in the future, of discovering a cure using gene technology to treat those with inherited CVD. It is still in its early stages with no trials yet on humans but it has worked on monkeys. With so many medical advances, a cure for CVD may not be far away.
By Anujah Mohanathan, Newstead Wood School
