colorimpaired

Colorimpaired refers to a reduced ability to perceive differences between colors that most people can distinguish. It is commonly described as color vision deficiency, or color blindness, though the latter term can be misleading. Colorimpaired vision is typically congenital, resulting from genetic variations affecting cone cells in the retina, but it can also be acquired later in life due to eye disease, trauma, or certain medications.

Most colorimpaired individuals have red-green deficiencies, such as protanopia, deuteranopia, and their anomalous forms (protanomaly, deuteranomaly). Blue-yellow deficiencies (tritanopia, tritanomaly) are less common. A small number have complete color blindness (achromatopsia), or reduced color perception with other visual limitations.

Diagnosis is usually achieved through color vision testing, including Ishihara plates. Additional testing with an anomaloscope or computer-based assessments may be used for more precise classification.

Prevalence varies by population; in people of Northern European descent, roughly 8% of men and 0.5% of women have some form of red-green deficiency. Blue-yellow deficiencies and achromatopsia are rarer.

Management focuses on accommodation rather than cure. Environments and products can be made accessible through high color contrast, redundant cues (textures, patterns, labels, icons), and descriptive text. Some assistive technologies attempt to convert color cues into other signals or to provide color differentiation education. Colorimpaired individuals often rely on context and noncolor information to interpret information in daily tasks.