Yes, Contact lenses can correct Color Deficiency!
People who suffer from Color Vision Deficiency can still see the world in vibrant, accurate shades of color.
Specialty color blind contact lenses are designed to significantly improve color discrimination in color deficient wearers. Colorblind lenses contain a unique tint, which helps to improve the contrast between colors, by filtering the wavelength of each color you see.
While the lenses do not give the wearer perfect color vision, they allow people who have trouble distinguishing colors to see differences that previously looked similar.
Most people with color vision deficiency can see colors. However, they can’t discern between certain colors. Every type of color vision deficiency affects the entire color spectrum.
Many people suffer from a type of color blindness called Red-Green Color Blindness(Protanopia) and it is just like it sounds – a condition that confuses shades of red and green.
These colors will be a dull yellow-brown, which can impede day-to-day activities like looking at traffic lights. It is the most common form of Color Vision Deficiency or Color Blindness.
Blue-Yellow Color-Blindness (Tritanopia) is less common. People affected confuse blue with green and yellow with violet.
Color Blind (Achromatopsia) is the truly colorless vision experienced as they see only white, black, or in shades of gray.
Why is it so important for some people to overcome their color deficiency?
Color blindness can be upsetting and can complicate your career path. There are many occupations that restrict colorblind people from joining them due to safety precautions and concerns. Some of these many career paths include:
- Firefighters
- Train Engineers and Conductors
- Police Officers
- Military Personnel/Armed Forces
- Airline Pilots
- Air Traffic Controller
- Electricians, Electrical Engineers
In order to be able to serve in one of these positions, passing the Ishihara color blind test, or a very similar exam is usually required. Correcting this deficiency might open the door to many occupational, leisure and educational goals, that would otherwise be unattainable.
What causes Color Vision Deficiency?
Typically, color blindness is an inherited genetic disorder. Another cause of this condition is an injury or disease, which affects the retina or the optic nerve.
Inherited color deficiency do not have a cure yet, but with the advent of contact lenses and eyeglasses for color blindness, you can see the colors more perfectly.
Many people live for years before discovering they suffer from red green color blindness.
This is a fairly common condition and usually gets discovered by your optometrist, using the Ishihara test.
This test contains of several colored plates, known as Ishihara plates. All these plates contain a circle filled with dots appearing in random order of color and size.
Those with certain types of color blindness will see different numbers from those not affected by color blindness.