Description

Genetic inability to distinguish differences in hue Cone cells are special cells in the retina and are responsible for color vision There are three basic types of color blindness o Red/green blindness o Blue color blindness o Total color blindness Red/green is the most common form of the disorder. People with this disorder can distinguish red from green if the two colors are next to each other but not when the colors are by itself Blue is rare. People with this disorder cant distinguish blue or yellow. Both colors are seen as white or gray. Total is called achromatopsia and is the rarest of all. With this disorder you see everything as white, black, or some shade of gray

Explanation
People with normal color perception have three different types of cones. Each type of cone is tuned to perceive predominantly long wavelengths (reddish), middle wavelengths (greenish), or short wavelengths (bluish. The cone cells on the retina are the crucial physical components of seeing color. Our minds determine what "color" we are seeing by determining the ratio between signals from different types of cones. In people with colorblindness, a type of cone is either missing, or has a different spectral sensitivity

Symptoms Symptoms may vary from person to person Trouble seeing colors and the brightness of colors in the usual
way

Inability to tell the difference between shades of the same or

similar colors

Treatment
Color blindness isn't correctable, since it's caused by an inherited defect of the light sensitive pigment in special cells called cone cells in the retina at the back of the eye. Sometimes there's a reduction in the number of these cone cells as well. The commonest types of hereditary color vision deficiency are green and red deficiencies. You can find ways to make up for a color vision problem such as wearing colored contact lenses. These may help you see differences between colors. But these lenses don't provide normal color vision and can distort objects. Also wearing glasses that block glare. People with color vision problems can see differences between colors better when there is less glare and brightness. And learning to look for cues like brightness or location, rather than colors. For example, you can learn the order of the three colored lights on a traffic signal. Optometrists can supply colored spectacle lenses or a single redtint contact lens to wear on the non-dominant eye but, although this may improve discrimination of some colors, it can make other colors more difficult to distinguish

Statistics About 8% of men are color blind and only 0.5 percent of women
are colorblind

Bibliography
1. "FAQ on Color Blindness." Http://www.faqs.org/. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. 2. "Causes of Color Blindness." Http://www.webexhibits.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. 3. "Color Blindness." Http://www.webmd.com. WebMD, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.