How to Identify Signs of Albinism

Albinism is a widely recognized condition whose most distinctive feature is a complete lack of pigmentation in the skin. For as well-known as this condition is, however, it can be just as widely misunderstood or even feared. By knowing how to identify albinism's distinctive features, however, albinism can be appropriately treated as the medical condition it is.

Instructions

• 1

  Check the pigmentation of the skin. Although albinism is most well-known for the nearly milk-white skin, albinism can result in a range of skin tones, from white to nearly normal. Melanin production may also increase through childhood and adolescence, darkening the skin. Exposure to the sun, meanwhile, can produce freckles, moles, liver spots or tans.

• 2

  Take a look at the hair color. Albinism can produce hair color that ranges anywhere from stark white all the way up to brown--although never black. Among people of African or Asian backgrounds, albinism can often result in reddish or yellow hair. As with skin color, however, hair color can change by early adulthood.

• 3

  Consider the eye color. Albinism can result in eyes that can range from a nearly translucent light blue all the way to a simple brown. These eyes may also appear red in certain light, because the translucence allows light to reflect off the back of the eye and through the iris--like red eye in flash photography. Like skin and hair color, eye color may change over time.

• 4

  Assess the eyes not just for color but also for function. Albinism can cause a range of vision problems, from nystagmus (rapid, back-and-forth eye movement), strabismus (the inability of the eyes to focus or move in unison), extreme nearsightedness or farsightedness and sensitivity to light. These problems are best diagnosed by proper ophthalmologists, who will likely administer an electroretinogram test, which assesses how light is processed by the brain.

• 5

  Determine albinism for certain with genetic testing. As a genetic trait, effected genes can be identified from a blood sample of the effected individual and their parents (if available). Albinism is also prevalent in certain distinct sub-populations; the Hopi Indian tribe of the American Southwest have a 0.5% prevalence for albinism, or 1 out of every 200 people.