IS IT POSSIBLE FOR PARENTS TO SPOT ISSUES WITH COLOUR VISION IN THEIR CHILDREN?

Most Colour Deficients (95%) are boys. The most common colour deficiency is a confusion of specific shades of red and green and deficiency in our perception of colour ranges from mild to severe. There is also a rarer yellow-blue deficiency and few people are truly colour blind. People’s retinal disability to perceive particular wavelengths (shades) of colour is genetically inherited through the mother’s gene contribution, although she herself is rarely affected. Yes it is genetics and luck of the draw again.

Discovering your child’s colour vision ability early in life helps to protect them in certain potentially dangerous situations and also helps to guide their career choice away from some jobs e.g. electricians, decorators, military, fire brigade, police force, nursing. My very blokey other half is colour deficient and I should have known better than to ask his opinion on choosing curtains for the house. “So – you like this green fabric with the pink roses then??” “What roses ??!” he replied blankly. Of course, because he is red- green deficient he couldn’t see the roses on the green background! I can test for colour deficiency during your child’s routine eye examination.