Color blindness is more appropriately mentioned as color vision deficiency, is the inability of the eye to differentiate between various colors.
Colour Blindness
Many people think that colorblind people only can see black & white pictures, but it is not true people with color blindness have trouble seeing the difference between certain colors.
Color blindness is considering as a mild vision disability; in some situations, colorblind individuals have an advantage as compared with normal color vision. Some studies show that color-blind peoples are better at penetrating certain color, and it has been suggested that this may be the evolutionary explanation for the surprisingly high frequency of congenital red-green color blindness.
Colour blindness Facts
- Color blindness is most often inherited. It is passing from generation to generation on the X chromosome.
- 5%-8% of men and 0.5% of women are colorblind.
- Most color impaired can see all colors. Very few colorblind people can only see in black in white (less than 1%).
- In World War II, colorblind men were sent on special missions, because their decreased ability to see green led to an increased ability to see through or detect camouflage.
- Everyone is colorblind at birth
- Red/green color blindness is the most common form (99%). 75% of people with red/green color blindness have trouble with green perception while 24% have trouble with red perception.
- Blue/yellow color blindness and total color blindness (i.e., seeing only shades of gray) are very rare. (Currently, there is no easily available screening test for blue/yellow color blindness.)
- There is no treatment for color blindness.
Retina Cones and Color vision
To understand about color blindness need to know about the cones in your eye’s retina. Small cones are cells on the retina, a stamp-sized area at the back of the eye.
There are three types of cones; each one is responsible for red, blue, or green color vision. Each cone is sensitive to those colors and their combinations. All three types of cones are requiring seeing different colors properly. If any of this cone does not work properly, nor do not have the right combination, then the brain does not able to get the right message about the colors. For example, color blind may see a green leaf as tan or gray.