We live in a fast-paced world where a majority of the time is spent on achieving our goals so that we can live a comfortable life. In this hustle-bustle, many of us tend to overlook the importance of health. It is important to have an annual health checkup to ensure that you are perfectly fine.
Irrespective of the physical condition and age, it is necessary to have an annual eye checkup to catch any eye problem before it progresses. There are many people who tend to have problems cannot identify colours or they mix up the colours. This is called Colour Blindness. It is usually a genetic condition that is passed down from the parents.
There is a problem in identifying both red and green shades or blue and yellow shades. Men are more affected with colour blindness than men as the X chromosome is responsible for the condition. If your close family relations have colour blindness, it is necessary to opt for a colour blindness test.
There are three different types of color blindness – Deutan, Protan, and Tritan. Colour blindness can impact day-to-day life as the person would not be in a position to identify colours. Driving can be a huge task as the person with colour blindness would not be in a position to recognize colors at the traffic signal. It could also pose risk to the other riders on the road. There are some who have minor color blindness as well. There are three different types of color blindness – Deutan, Protan, and Tritan.
It is important to visit an eye specialist when you (or someone in the family) have symptoms of colour blindness. Color blindness is mostly genetic. People with diabetes, age-related Macular Degeneration, eye injuries, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s or other neurological disorders, and other eye conditions such as cataracts or glaucoma are more prone to color blindness.
Most of these conditions are more prevalent with senior citizens hence; it is the responsibility of the younger family members to accompany elderly people in the house for a colour blindness test. The most widely used color blindness test is based on the Ishihara “hidden digit” test method. The test involves the patient looking through a picture booklet that contains clusters of dots with different shapes and sizes. A person with colour blindness would find difficulty in identifying all the colours.
Does it mean that the younger generation is not prone to colour blindness? As per research, the destruction of light-detecting cells in the eyes can be caused by excessive exposure to blue light. Blue light can cause Macular degeneration which is one of the causes of colour blindness. What exactly is blue light? The natural source of blue light is the sun. In today’s technologically advanced world, we are all exposed to the blue light as it is emitted from the screens of mobile devices, tablets, and other electronic devices with screens. It is the same light that comes from LED and fluorescent tubes.
Blue light is everywhere and cornea & lens of the eye are not equipped to block the blue light. The ideal solution is to use blue light filter glasses as they reduce the digital eye strain as the blue light is filtered by the blue light protection lenses. Many people have the habit of using mobile phones at night. This practice, when followed regularly, could create problems for the eyes in the long run.
It is necessary to protect the eyes from blue light from digital devices by using special computer glasses. There are special blue light filter glasses for indoor as well as outdoor use. Computer glasses like Eyezen can reduce digital eye strain. Spectacles with clear protective lens coating like Crizal can be used for indoor as well as outdoor use.
To summarize, it is important for each one of us to do a regular health assessment of the eyes so that we can have good eyesight even at the prime of our age.
