Värinäköhäiriö

Värinäköhäiriö, commonly known as color blindness, is a condition that affects a person's ability to distinguish certain colors. It is usually inherited and affects more men than women. The most common type is red-green color blindness, where individuals have difficulty distinguishing between red and green shades. Less common forms include blue-yellow color blindness and the rare total color blindness, or achromatopsia, where a person sees the world in shades of gray.

The cause of color blindness lies in the photoreceptor cells in the retina, specifically the cone cells. These cells are responsible for color vision. When certain cones are missing, defective, or sensitive to different wavelengths of light than normal, color vision is impaired. Most cases are congenital, meaning they are present from birth, due to genetic mutations. Acquired color blindness can occur later in life due to eye diseases like glaucoma or macular degeneration, or as a side effect of certain medications or injuries.

Diagnosis typically involves simple vision tests using colored charts, such as the Ishihara plates. These tests present numbers or patterns hidden within a field of colored dots. People with color blindness will have difficulty perceiving these hidden figures. While there is no cure for inherited color blindness, specialized lenses and filters can sometimes help individuals with certain types of the condition to better distinguish colors in specific situations. However, these aids do not restore normal color vision. For those with acquired color blindness, treating the underlying cause may improve color perception.