Color blindness is also known as color vision deficiency, and there’s currently no cure for it. However, addressing underlying causes, using special glasses, and other adaptations can help manage it.
If you have color vision deficiency, you’ll see colors differently from other people. For instance, you may have trouble distinguishing between red and green or yellow and blue. Some people don’t see colors at all.
Color blindness is often inherited and involves changes to the eye or brain. It is not an illness but can make certain tasks more challenging. Letting people know about it can help them to help you. Read on to learn more.
Lenses and Glasses
Special glasses and contact lenses can help distinguish between colors, but they won’t cure color vision deficiency.
How much difference they make will depend on the cause, type, and extent of color vision loss. They might work for some people but not others.
They are most useful for distinguishing between green and red.
The glasses are made with special minerals that block certain light waves as they enter the lens. This prevents overlap between red and green wavelengths, reducing the confusion between red and green.
It’s worth noting that:
- The correction will only last while you wear the glasses.
- The glasses might worsen night vision because they block the light.
- They may not be safe to use while driving.
- They can be costly and don’t always make a significant difference.
- Insurance doesn’t usually cover the cost, as color vision deficiency is not considered a medical condition.
Indoor and low-light versions are also available, as are contact lenses that work similarly.
Making Adjustments
Adjustments and adaptations are the main ways to address color vision deficiency. Here are some ideas.
Talking About It
Discussing how color vision deficiency affects you at school or work can help you and others. Most people can’t imagine what it’s like not to see colors, and they may need someone with experience to explain it.
By raising awareness, you can help organizations understand color vision deficiency and improve accessibility. This can benefit you and others.
Practical Tips
Here are some ways others can help you navigate color vision deficiency at school or work:
- Avoid using red on a green background.
- Use only black ink on whiteboards or white chalk on blackboards.
- Make handouts in black ink on white paper, not colored paper.
- Provide a desk with plenty of light.
- Label art supplies.
- Label pictures where color is important, such as “green frog.”
- Use patterns, labels, or numbers as well as color coding.
- Avoid using potentially confusing colors for contrast in charts, graphs, or diagrams.
- Label on and off buttons that show up as green or red.
- Ensure team colors are distinguishable for everyone.
If you need to submit work where color use is significant, ask someone to help you check.
Check Your Screen Settings
The accessibility menus on devices take color perception into account.
For Windows:
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Color Filters, and choose a color or select predesigned filters for your color vision deficiency type.
For Mac:
Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display and Text Size, and choose a color filter.
Using Apps
You can download apps where you can take a photo, tap on a section of the picture, and the app tells you what color it is.
Examples include:
- Colormate
- What Color is This?
- Color Blind Pal
Treatment for Underlying Causes
Color vision deficiency can result from a genetic condition, an eye disease, or other health factors.
Treatment for Genetic Conditions
Genetic conditions that involve color vision deficiency include congenital stationary night blindness and retinitis pigmentosa.
Congenital stationary night blindness is a retinal disease. It affects various aspects of vision and is present from birth.
Retinitis pigmentosa often starts as night blindness and worsens over time, possibly leading to tunnel vision.
Currently, there is no cure for gene-related color vision deficiency. However, scientists are trialing therapies that could improve or eventually resolve genetic causes.
Reversible Causes of Color Vision Deficiency
Exposure to certain substances can affect color vision. Full vision usually returns after stopping the exposure or use. How long it takes will depend on the substance.
Here are some substances that can cause color vision loss:
- Alcohol Color vision loss affects some people with alcohol use disorder. It may improve after stopping alcohol consumption.
- Tuberculosis (TB) Treatment Ethambutol (Myambutol), a TB drug, can severely affect red-green perception. This usually improves some months after stopping treatment.
- Phenytoin This drug can manage seizures. Normal vision may take a year to return after stopping phenytoin (Dilantin).
- Obstructive Jaundice High bilirubin levels can affect color vision. This usually resolves as jaundice improves.
- Toluene Acute exposure to toluene, a chemical in paints and other products, can cause color vision loss. Color vision usually returns three days after exposure.
- Vitamin A Deficiency This can lead to night blindness, difficulty distinguishing colors, and permanent vision loss. Timely treatment can reverse night blindness.
If you think medications are causing color vision loss, speak with your doctor. They may prescribe a different drug.
Will I Need Surgery?
Most people don’t need surgery for color vision deficiency. Some causes need surgery, but the person won’t necessarily get their color vision back.
Examples include:
- Retinal Detachment The retina pulls away from the eye. Other symptoms of retinal detachment include flashing lights and floaters.
- A Brain Tumor Some brain tumors can affect color vision. You may need surgery, but your color vision may not return if damage has occurred.
- Cataracts Cataracts cause blurred vision and can affect color perception.
Other Diseases
Color vision loss can occur with a range of other diseases that affect the eyes and nervous system, such as:
Color vision reduces with age, declining more rapidly after 70 years.
Some researchers have also found links between loss of color perception and mental health conditions, such as depression and schizophrenia.
Treatment can help manage these conditions but will not resolve color vision loss.
Mental Well-Being While Living With Color Blindness
Color vision deficiency can affect many aspects of life, such as driving, cooking, dressing, avoiding sunburn, administration, and career choices.
Adaptations provide practical help, but color vision deficiency can also affect mental and emotional well-being.
You might have feelings of:
- Confusion
- Being left out
- Self-consciousness
- Frustration
Some people face bullying or teasing.
In School
In school, color vision problems may:
- Affect relationships with peers
- Increase the risk of behavioral problems and lower achievement scores
- Result in anxiety or disappointment when choosing a career path
Letting the school know if your child has color vision deficiency will enable them to take suitable measures.
Some children are eligible for extra support during schooling, known as a 504 plan.
At Work
At work, color vision deficiency can pose challenges when doing tasks where color is significant.
You may feel anxious about making mistakes and afraid of letting others know you can’t see color. It may also impact your career advancement.
Supportive interventions as part of an overall inclusivity plan can help manage these challenges.
Mental Well-Being
Color vision deficiency can be challenging to live with.
A small study from India found that color deficiency significantly affected people’s emotional and mental well-being, leading to feelings of anxiety, depression, and embarrassment.
If color vision deficiency affects your mental well-being or ability to manage daily tasks, ask your doctor about support groups and other help.
Ability Central has links for financial and other types of help.
Research and Clinical Trials
The most promising treatment for color vision deficiency is gene therapy.
For a study published in 2022, scientists gave four children with no color vision a gene therapy injection. They did MRI scans before and after the injection.
MRIs for two children showed new activity after the injection that was not there before and is absent in people with total color vision deficiency.
These results suggest that gene therapy could one day offer a cure for people with some types of color blindness.
