How to Correct Colorblindness

Color blindness refers to a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish between different colors or shades of colors. Although you might assume that a color-blind person can only see the world in black and white, such is not the case. A color-blind person can actually see colors, just not all shades of every color.

Things You'll Need

• Color-blindness test
• Medication
• Tinted glasses

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Instructions

• 1

  Take a color-blindness test. If you suspect you suffer from color blindness, you must take a test to determine what type of color blindness you have. You could have either a mild form in which red and green appear weaker than other colors, or a more severe form in which red and green are hard to distinguish at all. In rare cases, you may also find it difficult to distinguish between blue and yellow shades. In order to determine the best kind of treatment, your doctor will have to know what degree of color blindness you have.

• 2

  See your eye doctor to discover the cause, so you can find the best way to correct the problem. Your doctor will perform a full eye exam to determine the health of your eyes and to check for various eye diseases that may be triggering your color blindness. If your eyes are healthy, he will then discuss your medical history with you in order to determine whether or not a medication you are taking may be causing your color blindness. If medication is not the issue, he will most likely conclude that your color blindness is a hereditary condition that can only be improved, not corrected.

• 3

  If an eye disease is the cause of your color blindness, seek treatment for your disease in order to correct the issue. Cataracts are the most common eye disease to cause color blindness. By treating and curing your cataracts through surgery, your color blindness should also clear up as a result.

• 4

  Discontinue use of any medication that is found to be the cause of your color blindness during your visit to your eye doctor. Both tiagabine, a drug used to treat epilepsy, and hydroxychloroquine, a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, have been known to cause color blindness in some cases. Ask your doctor if you can find an alternative drug, one that does not cause color blindness. By switching medications, your color blindness should improve greatly and will likely cease to exist.

• 5

  Learn techniques to help improve your color blindness, especially for those who suffer from hereditary induced color blindness because it cannot be fully corrected. For instance, you may be able to distinguish different colors from one another based on their brightness and location. A common technique used by those with color blindness is to learn where the different colored lights are located on a traffic signal. If the top light is bright, you need to stop, whereas if the bottom light is bright, you may go. You may also use a method in your closet at home to help distinguish different colored clothes from one another by dividing them into various sections and memorizing which color is in each section.

• 6

  Wear corrective lenses. The most common treatment for correcting color blindness is the use of tinted eyeglasses or contact lenses that can help you determine the difference between various colors.