Color Blindness
Color Blindness Treatment
By Lindsey KonkelMedically Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD
Reviewed: May 6, 2016
While certain treatments help some people better perceive colors, it's important to find ways of adapting to color blindness.
Color blindness is a type of color vision deficiency that makes it difficult to see certain colors, or perceive obvious differences between two colors under normal lighting.
Most forms of color blindness are inherited at birth.
The most common form of color blindness is red-green color blindness. People with this condition have a hard time distinguishing between different shades of reds and greens.
There's no cure for color blindness, and no medical treatments currently exist for inherited forms of color blindness.
Most people with color blindness learn to adapt and live with the condition. For many people, a color vision deficiency is a relatively minor inconvenience.
Some people go many years without even knowing that they see colors differently from how most people see them.
They're diagnosed with color blindness as an adult, or they may never receive a diagnosis of color blindness.
Living With Color Blindness
Here are some ways to work around poor color vision:
Memorize the order of colored objects, such as traffic lights.
Have someone with good color vision label and sort your clothing or other items that you want to match.
Use a smartphone or tablet app designed for people with poor color vision (which allows users to detect colors of objects).
If your child has color blindness, let teachers know that your child has trouble seeing certain colors.
Children with color blindness may have a hard time seeing yellow chalk on a green chalkboard, or reading assignments printed on colored paper or with colored ink.
Teach your child the colors of common items. This can provide a frame of reference for when other people are discussing colors in your child's presence.
Color Blindness Glasses
People with certain forms of red-green color blindness may be able to use a special set of glasses (or contact lenses) to help them perceive colors more accurately under certain lighting conditions.
These glasses work by filtering out certain wavelengths of light to help people better distinguish red and green colors. They don't restore normal color vision, but they may make certain hues appear more vibrant.
Color-corrective glasses don't work for everyone with red-green color blindness. Your eye doctor can help you determine whether you might benefit from these glasses.
Treatments for Achromatopsia
People with a severe form of color blindness called achromatopsia cannot see any colors.
Red-colored lenses can help reduce sensitivity to light for people with achromatopsia.
A device called an eyeborg can help people with achromatopsia perceive color through sound waves.
Color Blindness Research
Researchers are working on new ways to treat color blindness.
Some research has focused on gene therapies to correct the genetic abnormalities that cause the most common forms of color blindness.
Potential gene replacement therapy for red-green color blindness has already been tested in animals.
Last year, researchers in Seattle announced that they were developing a gene-based therapy for red-green color blindness in humans, but a cure for red-green color blindness is likely still several years away.
Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking
Facts About Color Blindness; National Eye Institute.
Achromatopsia; American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.
"A Cure for Color Blindness? Stand by Buck Rogers!" (2015). Optometry and Vision Science.
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