• Healthy State
  • Careers
  • Education
  • Research
  • Giving
Ochsner Health Ochsner Health
  • About
  • Find A Doctor (current)
  • Find A Location
  • Specialties & Treatments
MyOchsner Logo
Login | Signup
Submit Search magnifying glass icon
Close Search X icon
  •   Home
  • In To Your Health...
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
  • I need to...
  • Find A Doctor
  • Find A Location
  • Find A Specialty
  • Schedule An Appointment
  • Pay A Bill
  • Explore
  • About Ochsner
  • Careers
  • Patients & Visitors
  • "To Your Health" Blog
  • Health Resources
  • Medical Professionals
  • Education
  • Philanthropy
  • Community Outreach
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Research
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Schedule an Appointment
  • Call: 1-866-624-7637
  • Online: Login to MyOchsner
  • Personalize your content
  • patient Edit Persona Persona Chooser
To Your Health

View Newsletter Editions
  • Food & Fitness
  • Conditions & Treatment
  • Health Trends
  • Prevention & Wellness
  • Women's Health
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Parenting
100596209 (1) Doctor Explaining Eye Exam Results To Patient

Color Confusion: What Does It Mean to Be Color Blind?

Jun 30, 2022 |
By Danny K. Tran, OD
Share Facebook Logo Twitter Logo Pinterest Logo Email Logo

When you hear that someone is color blind, you may think it means a person can’t see colors at all, but it often means that someone can’t distinguish between certain colors. Color blindness occurs when you are unable to see colors in a normal way.

What is exactly is color blindness and what causes it?

In your eye’s retina (a thin layer of tissue that lines the back of your eye) there are two types of cells that detect light: rods and cones. Rods detect only light and dark and are very sensitive to low light levels. Cones detect color and are located near the center of your vision. There are three types of cones that see color: green, red and blue. Your brain uses input from cone cells to determine colors.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, color blindness can happen when one or more of the color cone cells are absent, not working, or detect a different color than normal. Severe color blindness occurs when all three cone cells are absent. Mild color blindness happens when all three cone cells are present, but only one cone cell isn’t functioning correctly.

There are different degrees of color blindness. Some people with mild color deficiencies can see colors normally in good light, but have difficulty in dim, or low light. Others can’t distinguish certain colors in any light. The most severe and rare form of color blindness is referred to as achromatopsia, a condition in which everything is seen in shades of gray. Color blindness typically affects both eyes and is usually something that you have from birth, but it can also develop later in life.

What are the signs of color blindness?

Signs and symptoms of color blindness can vary. Many people have such mild symptoms that they are unaware they have a color deficiency. Parents may only notice a problem with a child when he or she is learning colors. Symptoms include trouble seeing colors and the brightness of colors in the usual way and the inability to tell the difference between shades of the same colors. This happens most often with red and green or blue and yellow. There are four types of red-green color blindness:

  • Deuteranomaly is the most common type of red-green color blindness. It makes green look more red. This type is mild and doesn’t usually get in the way of normal activities.
  • Protanomaly makes red look more green. This type is also mild and usually doesn’t get in the way of normal activities.
  • Protanopia and deuteranopia both make you unable to tell the difference between red and green at all.

Blue-yellow color blindness is less-common and makes it hard to tell the difference between blue and green, and between yellow and red. There are two types of blue-yellow color blindness:

  • Tritanomaly makes it hard to tell the difference between blue and green, and between yellow and red.
  • Tritanopia makes you unable to tell the difference between blue and green, purple and red and yellow and pink. It also makes colors look less bright.

Am I at risk for color blindness?

The most common kinds of color blindness are genetic, meaning they’re passed down from parents. If your color blindness is genetic, your color vision will not get any better or worse over time. Men have a much higher risk than women for color blindness with 1 in 10 men having some form of color deficiency. You can also get color blindness later in life if you have a disease or injury that affects your eyes or brain including:

  • Trauma
  • Effects from drug use
  • Metabolic disease
  • Vascular disease
  • Eye conditions such as glaucoma or macular degeneration

There’s no cure for color blindness that’s passed down in families, but most people find ways to live with it. Keep in mind that most of the time, color blindness doesn’t cause serious problems. If your color blindness is happening because of another health problem, your doctor will treat the condition that’s causing the problem. If you’re taking a medicine that causes color blindness, your doctor may adjust how much you take or suggest you switch to a different medicine. If color blindness is causing problems with everyday tasks, there are special contact lenses and glasses that may help people tell the difference between colors.

Your ophthalmologist can use a simple test, called a color plate test, to tell you if you’re color blind. During the test, your doctor will show you a circle made of many different colored dots. The circle has a shape inside it that’s made out of dots — like a number or letter. This shape is easy to see if you don’t have color blindness, but people who are color blind have a hard time seeing it.

It’s important to visit your optometrist or ophthalmologist for regular eye exams. Your doctor can help create a plan tailored to your condition or needs.

To learn more about Dr. Danny Tran, or to make an appointment, click here. Learn more about optometry and ophthalmology at Ochsner.

Tags
optometry
ophthalmology
eye health

You may also be interested in:

Macular degeneration eyes woman
Conditions & Treatment
August 5, 2022

Experiencing Vision Loss? Here Are the 4 Main Causes of Blindness

It’s no secret that as we age, our vision can weaken, prompting many of us to take corrective measures such as wearing glasses, using prescription eye drops or even having surgery. But some eye disorders often lead to blindness if not treated.
By Denise Capps, MD
Dry eyes
Conditions & Treatment
August 5, 2022

What Is an Eye Stye?

An eye sty/stye is an inflammation or infection of the eyelid. While it does not cause a serious threat to your vision, sties can be uncomfortable. Here’s what you need to know about how to treat a sty and how to possibly avoid them.
By Denise Capps, MD
Eyelid twitch
Prevention & Wellness
August 5, 2022

Why is My Eyelid Twitching?

The occasional eye twitch is normal and not a sign of any severe health problems. An eye twitch is the involuntary, abnormal spasm of the eyelid muscle.
By Christopher Grenier, MD

email envelop icon Comments about the blog? Send us an email!

Ochsner Health

Schedule An Appointment: 1-866-624-7637

Follow us: Facebook Follow Ochsner Health on TikTok Twitter Follow Ochsner Health on Twitter LinkedIn Visit Ochsner Health's LinkedIn page Instagram Follow Ochsner Health on Instagram YouTube Subscribe to Ochsner Health on YouTube Pinterest Follow Ochsner Health on Pinterest TikTok Follow Ochsner Health on TikTok

Healthy living tips newsletters, delivered to your inbox.

Sign Up

Patients & Visitors

  • Billing & Financial Services
  • Insurance Information
  • International Patients
  • Request Medical Records
  • Share Your Story
  • Read Patient Stories

Medical Professionals

  • Transfer a Patient
  • Refer a Patient

Health Resources

  • To Your Health Blog
  • Golden Opportunity
  • Healthy State
  • Ochsner Magazine

Job Seekers

  • Career Paths
  • Benefits
  • Open Positions

Employees

  • Webmail
  • OHSLink
  • Workday

Employers

  • Corporate Wellness
  • Medicare Advantage Plans

Community Outreach

  • Classes & Events
  • Programs
  • Community Health Needs Assessment
  • Dr. John Ochsner Discovery Health Sciences Academy

Education

  • Graduate Medical Education
  • Clinical Medical Education
  • Continuing Medical Education
  • Medical Library
  • Publishing Services
  • Medical Illustrations

Research

  • Clinical Trials
  • Applied Health Services Research
  • Clinical Research & Trials
  • Nursing Research
  • Translational Research

Giving

  • Donate
  • Volunteer

About Ochsner

  • Mission & Vision
  • History
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Annual Report
  • Outcomes & Honors
  • News & Media
  • Alumni
  • Ochsner Health Network
  • Contact Us

Shop

  • O Bar
  • Optical Shop
  • Ochsner Fitness Center
  • Brent House Hotel

© Ochsner Health  | Notice of Privacy Practices | Terms of Use | Vendor Information

Ochsner accepts all major insurances.

Ochsner is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, founded on providing the best patient care, research, and education.

We are one of the country’s largest non-university based academic medical centers.

Ochsner is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

Community Needs Health Assessment

EpicMobile Tablet | EpicMobile Phone

newsletter icon

Subscribe to Our Newsletters

newsletter icon

Select the newsletters you'd like to receive.

Please select at least one category to continue.

Curious about our newsletters?

View details for each edition
newsletter icon

Let us know where to send your newsletters.

To Your Health- Food and Fitness:
To Your Health- General:
To Your Health- Men’s Health:
To Your Health- Parenting:
To Your Health- Women’s Health:
To Your Health-Mental Health Monthly":
To Your Health- Skin Deep:

Source:
Source Description:
Marketing Goal:
newsletter icon

You're all set!

We’ll send newsletters full of healthy living tips right to your inbox.

Ochsner Health System
magnifying glass icon
ESC to Close

Begin Typing to Search

Select the drop-down to filter Search by Blog Articles or Sitewide