What Is It?
Color blindness — more accurately called color vision deficiency — means you perceive colors differently from most people. The most common forms affect the ability to distinguish between reds and greens, but it can also affect blues and yellows.
It’s not usually that you can’t see any color at all (that’s achromatopsia, which is very rare). Instead, certain colors look similar to each other when they’d look distinctly different to someone with typical color vision.
How Common Is It?
- 8% of men and 0.5% of women of Northern European descent have red-green color deficiency
- Most color vision deficiency is inherited (X-linked recessive)
- Many people don’t discover they’re color blind until adulthood
- There are several distinct types, each affecting different color ranges
Types of Color Vision Deficiency
- Protanopia / Protanomaly — Reduced sensitivity to red light. Reds may appear darker or brownish.
- Deuteranopia / Deuteranomaly — Reduced sensitivity to green light. The most common type. Greens and reds can appear similar.
- Tritanopia / Tritanomaly — Reduced sensitivity to blue light. Rare. Blues and yellows can be confused.
- Achromatopsia — Complete color blindness. Extremely rare. Vision is in shades of gray.
Signs You Might Have It
- Difficulty distinguishing between red and green (or blue and yellow)
- Traffic lights all look similar in color
- Others tell you that your clothing doesn’t match
- Difficulty reading color-coded charts or maps
- Colored pencils or markers that look the same to you but different to others
What To Do
- Take a proper test — Use our Ishihara test as a starting point, then confirm with an eye care professional
- Learn your type — Knowing which type you have helps you develop strategies for daily life
- Explore tools — Color-identification apps, EnChroma glasses, and accessibility settings on devices can all help
- It’s not a disability — Most people with color vision deficiency live completely normal lives with minor adaptations