Colour Blindness – A Genetic Disorder and Not A Disease

People who suffer from the problem of colour vision deficiency find it difficult to distinguish between certain colours like red, green, blue and yellow. It is mostly an inherited condition that is largely seen in men than in women.

Different Types of Colour Blindness – 3 Types

There are three types of colour vision deficiency.

• Red-Green Colour Blindness: In this type of Colour Blindness, the Cone Cells that are responsible for recognizing Red and Green Colours lack light-sensitive pigments, because of which they are not well developed and do not function normally.
• Blue-Yellow Colour Blindness: In this type of Colour Blindness, the Cone Cells that are responsible for recognizing Blue and Yellow colours lack light-sensitive pigments, because of which they are not well developed and do not function normally.
• Total Colour Blindness: In this type of Colour Blindness, the individual cannot distinguish between any colours at all. None of the Cone Cells responsible for colour assessment responds to colour, hence allowing the individual to only see Black, White and Grey.

How do we see the colours?

Our eyes work like a camera with its front part acting as a lens. It helps in focusing images inside the backside of the eye known as the Retina, the central part of which is called Macula and the central part of the Macula is called Fovea Centralis. Fovea Centralis contains about 6 – 7 million cells called as Cones cells.

These cones help in perceiving colours and react to short, medium, and long wavelengths. Rod cells, on the other hand, have only one pigment and react to any light wavelength. It has nothing to do with colour vision but helps us to see at night.

Having understood the way we see things, now we come to the problem of colour blindness and try to understand how it occurs. When all the cone cells in the retina function correctly, our eyes can see all the colours. The problem occurs when any of the cone cells are not functioning properly. This results in trouble seeing some colours. In case there are no pigments in the cones, the person would not be able to see any colour at all and this condition is known as total colour blindness, which is a very rare occurrence.

How Colour Blindness occurs?

Colour Blindness is a problem in which the person suffering from it is unable to see all the colours. Usually, the problem occurs due to genes inherited from the parents which may cause and result in faulty photopigments. Some other possible reasons behind an acquired colour blindness condition are:

• Optic Nerve Damage
• Retinal Disorder
• Chemical or Physical Damage to the eye
• Damage to brain parts that helps in processing colour information

Colour Vision Deficiency can be of different types. The commonest one is when the genes inherited from the parents responsible for making the photopigments in the cones are not working properly or it can be acquired due to any other severe eye problem as mentioned above.

Treatment of Colour Blindness

Sanjeevan is the only eye clinic that offers treatment for colour blindness. After extensive research for 15 years, Sanjeevan has successfully treated more than 1500 Colour Blindness/Colour Vision Deficiency patients. Their proprietary treatment of Colour Blindness focuses on bringing changes at the cellular level by stimulating the neurotrophic factors in the retina and help rejuvenate the cone cells responsible for colour perception.

Sanjeevan provides complete treatment by a team of qualified doctors and has a 100% success rate. Their doctors have also researched and included Electro-acupuncture as a part of the treatment procedure which has given promising results. Many people who wish to build a career in the armed forces, merchant navy, and many other professions have to undergo mandatory colour blindness test. Early identification means early rectification so that their career goals are not hampered!