Colour Blindness

If you are Colour Blind, you will have difficulty distinguishing between certain colours or shades. Often the problem occurs when trying to differentiate between shades of yellow, red, blue or green. However, “colour blindness” is something of misnomer, as it is a colour vision deficiency, rather than a refractive or optical defect in your vision.

While women are the natural carriers of the colour deficient gene, colour blindness generally occurs amongst men, most commonly resulting from the recessive X chromosome inherited by sons from their mothers. Women are rarely colour blind themselves, only about 0.5% of the population.

The source of the problem lies in the retina. Essentially a cell defect in the retina prevents proper distinction between colours. We see colours because light absorbing tissues in our eyes transform and send signals to our brain. These tissues contain cells that distinguish colours, but when these cells do not work properly, we become colour blind.

While there is no major discomfort or disadvantage associated with colour blindness, there is no cure, and people with colour vision deficiency live with it their entire lives. The condition usually does not deteriorate or change, but if the eye or the retina sustains further damage due to aging, injury, or disease, complete colour blindness could occur.

Check your colour vision in the test below. Remember that this test is designed to give you a general indication of your colour vision and is not to be used for a concrete diagnosis. Should you experience difficulty while conducting the test, we recommend that you visit your eye doctor for a proper colour vision examination.