Ask the Optician

ASK NOW

Color Blind Test - Online Self Test

What is color blindness? | What causes color blindness? | Types of color blindness | Color blindness symptoms | Is there a color blind test I can take? | Is there a treatment for color blindness?

Color blindness makes it difficult todifferentiate certain colors. Take our simple test to chekck your eyes ability to perceive color.
Color Blind Test - Online Self Test

You may have heard of color blindness but not really know exactly what it means. Find out everything you need to know about the causes, symptoms, tests and treatment for color blindness.

What is color blindness?

Color blindness is a term for when someone is unable to see colors in a normal way. More accurately, it is a color deficiency rather than color blindness. Often, someone may not be able to distinguish between certain colors, most commonly between reds and greens and occasionally blues.

What causes color blindness?

In the retina of the eye, there are two types of cells, rods and cones, that detect light. Rods detect light and dark whereas cone cells detect color. Cone cells are concentrated in the central area of the retina in the macula. There are blue, green and red cones and your brain uses input from these cone cells to determine your color perception.

Color blindness can occur when there is an abnormality in these color cone cells. This could either be because there is an absence of cone cells, some of them may not be working correctly or some may detect a different color than normal.

You usually suffer with color blindness from birth and generally males are more affected than females. However, you can also acquire it later in life as a result of trauma, diseases including metabolic and vascular diseases, toxic effects from drugs and general aging.

If you experience a significant change in color perception, you should visit an eye specialist.

Types of color blindness

Severe color blindness occurs when all three cone cells are absent, and this is known as achromatopsia.  In this case, you will see everything in different shades of gray! Mild color blindness is when one cone cell does not work properly, and you may see colors normally in good light but struggle in dim light.

Color blind symptoms

Symptoms can be so mild that you may not even realize that you have a color deficiency! However, they can also be severe and include:

  • Difficulty seeing colors and the brightness of colors
  • Difficulty or inability to tell the difference between shades of the same or similar colors
DID YOU KNOW?

Red-green color blindness is the most common type of color blindness. As the name suggests,it makes it hard to tell the difference between red and green.

Is there a color blind test I can take?

You can very easily do a color blind test online without having to go to an eye specialist. This test, also known as the Ishihara test, is a fast and simple way to determine whether you struggle to perceive color in a normal way.

The test is made of a series of ‘plates’ of colored dots. In the center, the colored dots make up a number, and this number is surrounded by colored dots of a different color.  

Have a go! See the answers at the end of the article.

Color Blind Test - Online Self Test
Color Blind Test - Online Self Test
  1. Firstly, make sure you have the lights on. If you wear glasses of contact lenses, you can wear them to do the test.
  2. Look at the patterns made up of multi-colored dots.
  3. If you can make out the numbers and shapes among the dots, you do not have a color deficiency.
  4. If you struggle to do this, you may have a color deficiency and it is advised that you visit an eye specialist for a more comprehensive test.

If you are not sure about this test or if you would like more accurate results, visit an eye specialist to take a color blind test administered by a trained professional using standardized testing materials under proper lighting.

For a color blind test for kids, it is advised that you book an appointment with an eye specialist.

Is there a treatment for color blindness?

There is no treatment for inherited color blindness but there are special contact lenses and glasses that may help to enhance color perception.

If you have acquired color blindness, an eye specialist may be able to address the underlying condition that caused the problem.

If your eye specialist recommends that you wear eyeglasses or contact lenses, SmartBuyGlasses has you covered!

You can also check the current prescription of your eyeglasses using SmartBuyGlasses’s revolutionary Lens Scanner app. In just a few easy steps, you can extract your current prescription using just the app, your eyeglasses, a screen and a magnetic card. Do it from the comfort of your own home in a matter of minutes!

Answers from top left to bottom right: B, 26, 2, 14, 6, G

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *