Each of us is unique. We all see the same pictures, but perceive them differently. There are people next to us who cannot see the same thing as us. It's all about a different perception of color. Color blindness (violation of color perception) is a phenomenon that at all times has caused great interest. Who are color blind? What colors are confused? Let's look into this issue.
Color blindness - what is it?
Color blindness is a visual impairment associated with an abnormal perception of primary colors. One or more. Some people, when faced with a phenomenon such as color blindness, are afraid of further deterioration of health. This is not worth worrying about. Color blind people can have sharp vision, and a different perception of colors almost does not affect the quality of life.
Most color blind people are men. The fact is that boys receive a genetically modified X chromosome from their mother. Girls can only get color blind if only both parents have a diseased gene.
The color perception mechanism is based on the presence of color-sensitive receptors - nerve cells. With a multiple increase, they look like oblong cylinders, therefore they are called cones. These receptors contain three types of photosensitive pigments:
- Chlorolab - has maximum sensitivity to the yellow-green spectrum of colors.
- Erythrolab is susceptible to the yellow-red spectrum.
- Rhodopsin - has a high sensitivity in the blue spectrum, and is also responsible for color perception in low light (twilight vision).
If one or more pigments for some reason do not fulfill their function, a person displays color blindness. From which of the pigments "out of order" directly depends on what colors are confused color blind.
The reasons for the appearance of distorted color sensation
The reasons for the violation of color perception can be different. They are divided into two groups.
Most often, there are cases of so-called primary (hereditary) color blindness. When a person is born, already having a defect in the X chromosome, which does not allow him to distinguish colors.
Secondary (acquired) color blindness. It can be found in a healthy person at any age. The reasons for its appearance may be:
- central nervous system disorders;
- diseases of the optic nerve or retina;
- eye injuries;
- taking certain medications.
Types of Color Blindness
The colors that color-blind people confuse determine the presence of different types of color blindness.
Trichromasia is the first type. It manifests itself in a weakened perception of all primary colors. In fact, a person sees both red, and blue, and green, but they are perceived by them dimmer than in reality.
Dichromasia is the second type of disease. People with color blindness in this form do not perceive one of the primary colors at all. Depending on what colors the color blind do not distinguish, this type of violation can be divided into subtypes: protanopia - inability to see red, deuteranopia - lack of ability to see green, and if a person does not see blue, tritanopia occurs. Tritanopia is extremely rare and is also accompanied by night blindness - the inability to see at dusk.
Monochromasia is the third and last type of color blindness. Those who have such a violation are generally not able to perceive colors, that is, they see the world in black and white colors. Fortunately, there are not so many people suffering from monochromasia.
Restrictions in society for color blind people
It doesn’t matter in what color the color world is seen by color blind people and what shades they confuse, they all need some specific adaptation skills in modern society.
People with color impairment cannot get a driver’s license if they live in Turkey or Romania. In Russia, you can get the right, but only categories A or B. At the same time, there is no way to work as a driver of a vehicle carrying people or valuable goods. When applying for a job, doctors, pilots, sailors, chemists, drivers must undergo a visual test for color perception using special tables. And this is right, because their professional activity is associated with responsibility for the lives of other people.
Is color blindness treated?
Color blindness is impossible to cure. On the part of doctors, attempts are still being made to influence the patients' color perception, although they do not bring tangible results.
Since color blindness is often a congenital pathology of vision, parents need to identify its presence in babies as early as possible and determine what colors color-blind children confuse. This can be done with the help of simple experiments in a playful way. If it so happens that the baby shows up color blindness, do not panic. It is necessary to teach the child basic things: cross the road at a traffic light, independently combine clothes. The most important task is to help the child adequately accept himself and his peculiarity and prevent the development of complexes in him.
Regardless of what colors color blind people confuse, they are full members of society, with their own unique worldview. Remember that color blindness cannot stand in the way of a person’s self-realization.