Color blindness

Color blindness, color vision deficiency (CVD), color anomaly, color deficiency, or impaired color vision is the decreased ability to see color, differences in color, or distinguish shades of color. The severity of color blindness ranges from mostly unnoticeable to full absence of color perception.

Color blindness is usually a sex-linked inherited problem or variation in the functionality of one or more of the three classes of cone cells in the retina, which mediate color vision. The most common form is caused by a genetic condition called congenital red–green color blindness (including protan and deutan types), which affects up to 1 in 12 males (8%) and 1 in 200 females (0.5%). The condition is more prevalent in males, because the opsin genes responsible are located on the X chromosome. Rarer genetic conditions causing color blindness include congenital blue–yellow color blindness (tritan type), blue cone monochromacy, and achromatopsia. Color blindness can also result from physical or chemical damage to the eye, the optic nerve, parts of the brain, or from medication toxicity. Color vision also naturally degrades in old age.

Diagnosis of color blindness is usually done with a color vision test, such as the Ishihara test. There is no cure for most causes of color blindness; however there is ongoing research into gene therapy for some severe conditions causing color blindness. Minor forms of color blindness do not significantly affect daily life and the color blind automatically develop adaptations and coping mechanisms to compensate for the deficiency. However, diagnosis may allow an individual, or their parents/teachers, to actively accommodate the condition. Color blind glasses (e.g. EnChroma) may help the red–green color blind at some color tasks, but they do not grant the wearer "normal color vision" or the ability to see "new" colors. Some mobile apps can use a device's camera to identify colors.

Depending on the jurisdiction, the color blind are ineligible for certain careers, such as aircraft pilots, train drivers, police officers, firefighters, and members of the armed forces. The effect of color blindness on artistic ability is controversial, but a number of famous artists are believed to have been color blind.

Much terminology has existed and does exist for the classification of color blindness, but the typical classification for color blindness follows the von Kries classifications, which uses severity and affected cone for naming.

Based on clinical appearance, color blindness may be described as total or partial. Total color blindness (monochromacy) is much less common than partial color blindness. Partial color blindness includes dichromacy and anomalous trichromacy, but is often clinically defined as mild, moderate or strong.

Monochromacy is often called total color blindness since there is no ability to see color. Although the term may refer to acquired disorders such as cerebral achromatopsia, it typically refers to congenital color vision disorders, namely rod monochromacy and blue cone monochromacy.

In cerebral achromatopsia, a person cannot perceive colors even though the eyes are capable of distinguishing them. Some sources do not consider these to be true color blindness, because the failure is of perception, not of vision. They are forms of visual agnosia.