Information on Colorblindness

True colorblindness is the complete lack of color vision. According to the Mayo Clinic, most "colorblindness" is more appropriately described as poor color vision.

Symptoms

• Some people may not realize they have poor color vision until a situation involving colors, like encountering traffic lights, causes confusion. There are three major types of poor color vision: red-green deficiency, blue-yellow deficiency, and true colorblindness.

Types

• Red-green deficiency is the most common type of poor color vision; this occurs more often in men than in women. Blue-green and complete colorblindness are less common. Color defects can range in severity.

Causes

• Poor color vision may be caused by diseases like glaucoma or Parkinson's disease, certain drugs, chemical exposure, an inherited disorder, or simply aging. The National Institutes of Health state that most colorblindness is genetic.

Tests

• Your eye doctor can test you for color vision deficiency type and severity by using images with multicolored dot patterns.

Treatment

• There is no effective treatment for color vision deficiency, but most people are able to adjust and do not need to change or limit their activities.