About Color Blindness
It can be hard to determine whether or not one of your children has color blindness. When they are very young, you can't be sure whether they are just having a hard time learning their colors, or if they aren't seeing them correctly. If you are starting to get concerned that your child may be color blind, then learn more about the condition in this article.
What is color blindness?
Color blindness is a condition that affects the way a person processes the colors they see. Some people can have what is known as close-color blindness where they have a harder time telling colors apart that are close to each other. An example of this would be having a difficult time determining if something is blue or purple. Then, there are others who have a more serious case of color blindness who have a hard time with all colors.
Another term for color blindness is color vision deficiency. The most common reason people develop color blindness is due to a problem with the development of at least one of the retinal cones. These are what determine color and send that information to the optical nerve. Men are generally more prone to this type of color blindness due to them having only one X chromosome and this problem is carried on the X chromosome. Females having two of them decreases their risk of having this problem.
Other possible causes for color blindness include trauma to the eye caused by either blunt force or by chemical-contact. Although color blindness is often considered to be a mild disability, some people can be so minutely affected by the condition that it rarely hinders them in their everyday life.
Determining whether or not your child may be color blind
While it's normal for kids to get all their colors confused, you may be able to spot a potential problem sooner by paying attention to which specific colors your child has issues with. For example, if they tend to get all colors confused from time to time, then they may just need more practice. However, if they almost always have a difficult time telling the difference between the same colors, or even matching the same colors up, then it may be time to get them in for an eye exam, such as at Terrezza O.D. & Associates, P.A.
The sooner you spot a problem and take your child in for an exam, the sooner you can begin learning about their situation and learning techniques for dealing with their issue.