Color blindness, also known as dyschromatopsia, is a change in vision, in which the individual is unable to differentiate all or some of the colors, especially the green of red.
Generally, the transmission of color blindness is genetic, but it can also arise due to lesions in the structures of the eyes or the neurons responsible for the vision and is very rare in women and frequent in men, because it is associated with the X chromosome.
Color blindness has no cure; however, the patient's lifestyle can be adapted to have a life close to normal and without difficulties. Your diagnosis can be made by performing tests that can be performed at home, at school, at an optician or at the ophthalmologist. Read also: How to test to confirm color blindness.
Types of Color Blindness
Color blindness is a visual deficiency, and there are three types of color blindness, which include:
- Acromático Daltonismo: also known by monochromacia, is the rarest type, where the person sees the black, white and gray, not seeing other colors;
- Dichromatic Blindness: the person does not have a color receptor and therefore can not identify one of the following red, green or blue colors;
Tricommatic color blindness: it is the most common type, where the person has a slight difficulty in distinguishing the colors since the person has all the color receptors but, they do not work well. The colors that are usually affected are red, green and blue with their different shades.
The types of color blindness are classified according to the difficulty to see a certain set of colors, and should always be diagnosed by the ophthalmologist.
There is also a type of disease that causes difficulty in observing any type of color, called achromatopsia. Learn more about what the symptoms of this problem are and the difference in color blindness.
How to live with color blindness
Color-blind people may have more difficulty deciding what color to buy or work with electricity, for example, however there are some strategies that can help the person to live better, such as the following.
Glasses for color blinds
A good way to cope with color blindness is to buy a special glasses for color blindness, which suits the colors so that the color blind see the colors as they really are.
This glasses can be bought over the internet, are manufactured by the company EnChroma, being similar to a sunglasses and costs about 400 dollars.
There are 2 types of lenses, one of which is suitable for people who can not see red, which is the Cx-PT model, and the other for those who do not see the green, which is the Cx-D model. However, a window has not yet been created that can be indicated for those who do not identify all the colors.
The website of the manufacturer has a free trial to know which lens is the most suitable for each person.
ADD system to identify colors
Learning the color identification system called ADD is the best way to cope with color blindness. This system catalogs each color with a symbol, helping the colorblind to 'see' the colors in a simple way, increasing their self-esteem and improving their quality of life.
While this system is not yet mandatory, what you can do is ask for help from someone who is not color-blind to help you write the appropriate symbol on the labels of your clothes and shoes, as well as pens and colored pencils so that whenever the colorblind see symbols know how to identify your color.
The ADD coding system is similar to Braille language for the visually impaired and has been used in some European countries. Here's how to learn how to use it: How to teach the colorblind to learn in color.
