What Is Color Blindness? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

Also known as color deficiency, color blindness is when you can’t see colors as most other people do. You may have a hard time differentiating between certain colors, such as shades of red and green or, less commonly, shades of blue and yellow. People who are completely color blind can’t see color at all — they can only see shades of black and white. This condition, known as achromatopsia, is rare.

Color blindness tends to run in families and is inherited at birth. There’s no cure for color blindness, but special glasses and corrective lenses can help. (1)

The most common types of color blindness are hereditary, passed from parent to child. Many people are born with it, which makes it a congenital condition.

Color blindness is caused by a total or partial lack of cones in the retina. Cones are what detect the colors red, green, and blue. (2)

In some cases, color blindness may occur later in life due to these circumstances:

• Diseases such as eye disease, metabolic disease, or vascular disease
• Damage to the eye or brain
• Age-related cataracts
• Certain medications (1,2)

Men have a higher risk of color blindness than women. You’re also more likely to have color blindness if you meet any of the following criteria:

• Have a family history of color blindness
• Have an eye disease such as age-related macular degeneration or glaucoma
• Have health issues like diabetes, multiple sclerosis, or Alzheimer’s disease
• Are on certain medications
• Are white (1)

Whether you're born with color blindness or you develop it as you age, you will most likely experience it for the duration of your life. There is no cure for color blindness, but there are ways to manage it. (1) If your color blindness is caused by an eye injury or underlying condition, treating these issues may improve your color vision. (3)

People with a severe form of color blindness called achromatopsia cannot see any colors — they only see black, white, and shades of gray. They may also have other vision problems such as sensitivity to light and glare, uncontrollable eye movements (nystagmus), low visual acuity (not being able to see things sharply), and farsightedness. Achromatopsia is rare — it affects approximately 1 in 30,000 people worldwide. (6)

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) are less likely than white people to have color blindness. A study published in July 2014 in the journal Ophthalmology looked at color vision deficiency in preschool children and found that almost 6 percent of white boys had color blindness, compared with 3 percent of Asian American boys, almost 3 percent of Hispanic American boys, and less than 2 percent of African American boys. (9)

American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)

The AAO is the largest association of eye physicians and surgeons in the world, with over 32,000 doctors. Ophthalmologists receive special training in eye care, including the prevention, diagnosis, and medical and surgical treatment of eye conditions and diseases. In addition to providing information about color blindness, the AAO website has a feature to help you find an ophthalmologist.

National Eye Institute (NEI)

The NEI is a division of the National Institutes of Health, providing up-to-date facts on symptoms, causes, and treatment for color blindness. Its website has tips for parents on when to get your child tested if you're concerned about color blindness.

American Optometric Association (AOA)

The AOA, which represents doctors and professionals of optometry, offers a wealth of information on eye conditions and diseases, including color blindness, on its website.

We Are Colorblind

This project from a team in the Netherlands describes itself as "dedicated to making the world a better place for the color blind" by improving the design of products and services to make them more accessible. The website features articles, interviews, and news on the subject, along with additional resources such as a list of children's books on color blindness and a podcast.