Color blindness: it’s not just a genetic condition
Through the eyes we relate to the outside world, we are able to establish relationships and perceive sensations. The gaze is the main tool through which we carry out our work tasks, the vehicle on board which we travel through the good or bad moments of life.
At the center of everything is first and foremost the perception of colors, capable with their shades and tones of defining and making more or less interesting every situation of which we are protagonists. However, there are some people who suffer from a disorder that alters this essential aspect. This is color blindness, a particular condition that takes its name from the scientist who first managed to describe it, namely the Englishman John Dalton.
The technical term would be dyschromatopsia but it is also known as ‘chromatic blindness’. For those who find themselves seeing colors badly due to color blindness, a world of uncertainties and doubts opens up, related to the activities of daily life. A condition that for the colorblind person also means the impossibility of having access to certain professions, which require – as an essential element – to be able to distinguish colors (therefore, for example, firefighter and airplane pilot).
In history, however, there is certainly no shortage of examples of famous colorblind: Bill Clinton, Mark Zuckerberg and Paul Newman are just some of the most famous.
How the colorblind person sees
The so-called color blindness makes it difficult to carry out certain operations of everyday life. A typical example? There can be difficulties in recognizing traffic light colors in traffic.
The psychological impact, therefore, is an element that should not be overlooked when recognizing the presence of this disorder. Eye blindness is mainly congenital, due in particular to a genetic mutation that affects the X chromosome. There are different types of dyschromatopsia, each for the different and possible shades of the various colors. This condition is due to an alteration in the cones (photoreceptors), which affects the correct display of colors.
For example, red may not be perceived at all, then we will talk about protanopia, while if blue or yellow are not seen, there will be a tritanopia. The cones of the colorblind person, unable to function properly due to the anomaly, send confusing information to the brain which is unable to translate the visual signal received into the color correctly. Achromatopsia, on the other hand, is still different, in the presence of which the person can only perceive black and white.
It is the ophthalmologist who identifies color blindness, after having carried out an ad hoc examination that consists precisely in the correct recognition of a series of colors. Ishihara tables are used, with a series of points arranged to outline numbers and drawings to be determined. Based on the individual mistakes made by the person in recognition, the type of color blindness and the degree of the disorder can be understood. To determine if you are a colorblind, the specialist can also resort to the Farnsworth test where you need to order color gradient tablets.
