The Cause
Color blindness, or color vision deficiency decreases your ability to see color or differences in color.
There are main types of color blindness, protan-type (protanomaly and protanopia), deutan-type (deuteranomaly and deuteranopia) and tritan-type (tritanomaly and tritanopia). Protan-type and deutan-type are known as red-green color blindness and make up around 99% of cases.
Red-green color blindness is genetically inherited, from a gene on the X chromosome. As men only have one X chromosome, they are more likely to have it than women. Global figures support these findings, with around 8% of men and only 0.5% of females suffering from color vision deficiency.
Less commonly, color blindness can also be caused by damage to the optic nerve or retina due to injury, disease, or aging. Certain medications can also cause temporary or permanent color vision deficiency as a side effect.
The Effect
Our color perception consists of three types of cone cells - blue, green and red. Each of these cones is sensitive to a different range of wavelengths of light, and work together to show us the entire color spectrum.
People with color vision deficiency have one or more of these cone cells missing or not functioning properly, which affects their ability to perceive certain colors. In red-green color blindness, either the red or green cone has shifted towards the other.
The Impact
While color blindness is not a life-threatening condition and does not typically affect a person's overall vision, it can make it difficult to perform certain everyday tasks that require accurate color perception. This includes reading maps, identifying traffic lights or distinguishing between color-coded wiring. On top of this, it is a barrier to entry for certain jobs. With our color blind glasses, we hope to make life easier and provide more opportunities for those with color vision deficiency.
Our unique tinted lenses filter a short range of wavelengths of light, shifting the peak wavelengths picked up by the red and green cone cells away from each other. This reduces the overlap between the two, thereby allow more clear color interpretation by your eyes.
Since red-green color blindness is caused by the peak wavelengths being too close, these lenses will improve your color vision by allowing you to more easily distinguish between colors. This will give you the ability to appreciate the colors the world has to offer.