Daltonism is a frequent violation of vision, characterized by the inability of the eye to distinguish one or more primary colors. In some cases, it can be a consequence of various eye or nervous diseases. Due to some genetic characteristics, men suffer from congenital color blindness 20 times more often than women. Also, it is important to note that this condition is incurable regardless of the cause of its occurrence. The reason for the inability to adequately percept colors implies a disruption in the functioning of color, which are the sensitive receptors in the central part of the retina. These receptors are specialized nerve cells. There are two leading causes of the appearance of color blindness. These are hereditary and acquired pathology. Inherited color blindness is a genetic mutation of the female X-chromosome. Acquired color blindness is not associated with the transmission of the disease by inheritance. It can be external eye injuries or complications of diseases.
What Is Color Blindness
Typically, a person has three color-sensitive pigments: red, blue and green. A person who can distinguish only two primary colors is called dichromate. If the perception of one color of the spectrum is reduced, but not absent, this condition is called an abnormal trichromatic. Depending on the color, the color perception of which is weakened, these conditions are called protanomaly (weakening of the red pigment), tritanomaly (weakening of the blue pigment) and Deuteronomy (weakening of the green pigment). The complete absence of color perception is achromatopsia. In this case, all colors are perceived as shades of gray, white and black. This pathology is very rare. The most common one is protanopia.
Tritanopia is an extremely rare kind if color blindness and is characterized by perception of all colors of the spectrum as shades of red and green. Some kinds of color blindness are distinguished depending on the type of pigment that works incorrectly: protanopia: blindness in the red part of the spectrum, tritanopia (blindness in the blue-violet part of the spectrum), deuteranopia (blindness in the green part of the spectrum). With protanopia, the red color is mixed with dark green and dark brown, and green is mixed with light shades of gray, yellow and brown. With deuteranopy, the green color blends with light orange and light pink, and red – with light green and light brown.
Red Vs Green
The most popular theory of color blindness is the three-component theory. The idea implies that in the retina there are special cells called “cones.” They are divided into three types, each of them is responsible for its part of the color spectrum: red, green and blue. Three of these colors are the basic ones; all the rest can be obtained by mixing them. Reflecting from the object, the light hits the cones. A certain part of the cones reacts, depending on the color and transmits information to the brain for processing. Thus, it is obvious that people with color blindness should not be allowed to have certain professions, in order not to harm other people.
For the first time, the public’s attention to the problem of color blindness was attracted after the wreck of a train in 1875 in Sweden. During the investigation of the incident, it turned out that the machinist did not distinguish the red color. After that incident, conducting a test for color perception became a mandatory requirement for hiring a transport service. Nonetheless, in the modern world, there are a large number of markings and signals using color. They are signs in public places, traffic signs and traffic lights, various maps and so on. Therefore, people with impaired color perception deteriorate their quality of life significantly. And people, whose work is related to color distinguishing still have to pass tests in order to get a job they want.
Summing It Up
Summing it up, it should be concluded that color blindness is, most likely, an inherited disease, because of which a person can have problems with disntinguishing of different colors. It would be hard to identify such a person in the crowd, and these ones would not share the way they percept the world with others. In fact, they would just have to remember that the sly is blue, the grass is gree and that blood is red. Nonetheless, they are able to distinguish tones. For this reason, having color blindness does not influence the quality of one’s life significantly, but it does create some certain limitations for the sake of such a person and other people, when it comes to the issue of working.