Colorblindness

• Colorblindness is a deficiency in color perception.  About 8 percent of men and 5 percent of women are affect by this disorder.  People who are colorblind either are missing specific types of cones or their cones do not work properly.

• Usually the deficiency occurs in the red receiving cones (protanopia) or the green-receiving cones (deuteranopia).  Occasionally, there will be a problem with the blue receiving cones, but this is much more rare.  Colorblindness can develop as a symptom of certain diseases or as a side effect of some medications, but it is usually inherited and present at birth.