What do colour-blind people see?  As the most common type of colour blindness that affects people relates to green and red colours.

People with protanopia have a reduced ability to see red, those with deuteranopia have a reduced ability to see green, and those with tritanopia have a reduced ability to see blue. Due to overlapping sections of the colour spectrum perceived by both red and green cones, individuals with protanopia and deuteranopia see a similarly-impaired spectrum of colours and are commonly known as having “red-green colour blindness or deficiency, which makes this time of year tricky.

There are, however, important differences between how the red-green colour-blind protanopes (reduced ability to see red) and red-green colour-blind deuteranopes (reduced ability to see green) see the world around them.

Protanopes are more likely to confuse:
1. Black with many shades of red
2. Dark brown with dark green, dark orange and dark red
2. Some blues with some reds, purples and dark pinks
3. Mid-greens with some oranges

Deuteranopes are more likely to confuse:
1. Mid-reds with mid-greens
2. Blue-greens with grey and mid-pinks
3. Bright greens with yellows
4. Pale pinks with light grey
5. Mid-reds with mid-brown
6. Light blues with lilac

In the legendary Christmas book How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Dr. Suess describes how, “The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season! Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.”

To Dr. Suess, we say, “Maybe, just maybe, the Grinch had good reason for his complete hatred of the whole Christmas season – for the Who’s tree, when seen from the rooftop on down, looked to be lacking colour, a pale muddy brown!”

Make Christmas an enjoyable season for family and friends who are colour vision deficient, a great stocking filler is an iRo Lens testing kit – only $27 plus delivery – it is the gift that keeps on giving.

Check out this link for rebranded Christmas cards,  with a scientifically researched colour palette they are easy to share online or print (for free) for friends and family members. https://www.adsoftheworld.com/campaigns/rebranding-christmas-for-the-colorblind

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Colour blindness is also known as colour vision deficiency. Colour confusion often happens when someone cannot distinguish between certain colours. In Australia, about 8% of males and 0.4% of females suffer colour blindness to some degree, it is usually a genetic (hereditary) condition. The exact physical causes are still being researched but it is believed that colour blindness is usually caused by faulty cones but sometimes by a fault in the pathway from the cone to the brain. To a colour blind person, their world still appears to have colours, — it’s just that their colour vision perception or range of colours are different in various degrees to that of about 90 per cent of the population.

People with colour vision defects may only find out by accident, such as when a friend compliments their red shirt that they in fact thought was brown. This shift in perspective can be disorienting and shocking for the person, to find out things are not as they appear to them. There is no cure for colour blindness, but we have created Australian designed and owned iRo lenses in glasses and contact lenses that help to alleviate symptoms of the condition and increase and enhance all colours.

The Ishihara Colour Test is commonly used to broadly detect a colour vision issue. It involves the patient looking at a series of images containing colours mixed together as clusters of dots, of specific colours and sizes to test if the patient can distinguish between them. The pictures contain a number or shape, people who have a colour vision defect will struggle to see the number or shape, or they might not be able to see it at all. Click here to try our test today.
Most people with a colour vision deficit have always been interested to know how other people see colour.

That is why iRo lens home testing kits are an easy first step in seeing true colour. The home testing kit has special filters that are similar to iRo lenses and you will see colour as if you are wearing colour vision glasses.
The next step is to visit one of our certified Optometrists for a complete colour vision check, they will assess the exact type and degree of colour vision deficiency that each person has and will prescribe the appropriate iRo colour vision glasses for you.

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Many people think that colour blind people see the world in only black and white, like old movies. While this is not the case, complete colour blindness does exist. It’s called achromatopsia and is one of the rarest forms of colour blindness. The most common form is red-green colour blindness, protanomaly or deuteranomaly. Individuals with these conditions can still see colour. However, many colours become muddled and easily confused when certain shades blend. So, while colour blindness limits the amount of colour, it’s nothing like the old black and white movies.

Rainbows display all seven beautiful colours. However, colour vision deficits can cause a person to only perceive 2 or 3 of the colours as the others blend.

People can create magic out of any situation. Not being able to see colour can mean a life that has some issues, some surprises, and a special unique view. Depending on the person they could see it as magical, horrible, frustrating, exasperating and even a revelation.

One interesting side-effect of colour vision deficits is that often people can’t remember the colours of certain things. Their colour vision is so unreliable that they unconsciously train themselves not to pay any attention to colour at all.

There is no way to determine exactly how another person sees; our qualified Optometrists run several tests with each person to determine their type of colour vision deficit. This allows the selection of the most appropriate iRo lens. If you cannot attend one of our endorsed optometrist then we can supply Home Testing kits as these will simulate the effect of the iRo lenses and you will experience the same incredible difference they make to your colour vision.

At Colour Vision Optical, we help people with colour vision deficits unlock their colour vision. We demystify the world of colour vision deficiency and open up a whole new visual perspective.

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When trying on the iRo Lenses or even looking through the testing kits lenses, they immediately see a wider range of colours and notice a more vital vibrancy of colours, a lot more than what was “normal” for them without them. Depth perception is often improved as well, as the shades of colours become more visible.

The iRo Lens was developed by Ian Rosser, an Optometrist in Queensland who believed he could improve on the lenses available in the market. It took him ten years of research to develop the iRo Lens. Many people who have tried other lenses become disheartened as they don’t see any differences. Once they try the iRo Lens via the testing kit or local Optometrist, they are amazed.

Once people have seen the effectiveness of the iRo Lens via the testing kit, the next step is to visit one of our qualified iRo Lens practitioners in your area. Our testing procedure involves first determining the type and degree of deficiency. We do this with various methods, including computer-based tests that each person will perform themselves. The time taken will vary, but we always allow at least one hour because after the correct lens is determined, the person will wear the lenses to see how they change and enhance their world of colours. We also encourage each person to bring along a family member or someone close to them to observe the test, as this is the defining moment when true colours are seen for the first time. Many questions can arise, and it is a great time to share.

Our lenses work for 93% of people who have a colour vision deficit.

How do they work?

iRo Lenses selectively filter out specific light wavelengths to the point where the different coloured cones in your eyes overlap. They remove the mixed message the brain has while trying to differentiate colours. The lenses then give you the full ability to see the true colours around you. While wearing them, any symptoms of colour vision deficit will disappear, leaving you in awe of every colour the world has to offer.

If you are serious about correcting your colour vision, iRo Lens glasses* are available from $200. We also have clip-ons which are a cost-effective long term alternative as they are adaptable to any glasses you may wear, i.e. sunnies.

The first step is to try the testing kit, which we can mail to you. Click here.  See what you think and let us know as we love the good news stories.

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People with colour vision deficiency see a narrower range of colour. It is believed that most people with normal colour vision can see up to 1 million colour shades, but a person who has a colour vision deficiency sees as few as just 10 thousand colours, which is approx. —1% of the normal range.

These images give an example of colour vision deficits which help people with 100% colour vision understand what it is like for people who can’t see the full range of colour. These are just examples as you genuinely don’t know unless you see them as they do.

So, what are the actual effects of colour vision deficits on vision? The main issue is colour confusion, where colours are mistaken for another, like thinking peanut butter is green.

If you think about colours, the primary colours are red, yellow and blue, and other colours are all a combination of these. For example, purple consists of blue combined with red, orange is a blend of red and yellow, pink is a mix of white and red, etc. Some people with a colour vision deficit may have trouble seeing red– so imagine what purple would look like if you couldn’t see the red part? Or grass without green? We have three types of cones in our eyes: blue, green, and red. That is why colour vision deficits are often called “red-green colour blind” or “green deficient” or “red deficient”.

Colour confusion can affect people daily, starting with getting dressed in the morning, with a mismatched outfit, calling things by the wrong colour and having trouble interpreting colour coded information such as charts, graphs and maps, which could be thought of as a learning disorder in school.

Fortunately, iRo lenses can help people see colours. The joy and gasps from people when they see the fantastic colours of the world when they try them on makes it all worthwhile. We have testing kits available, which are made up of actual iRo lenses to try the lenses before you purchase the glasses. These testing kits are great gift ideas for any occasion in the comfort of your own home. Click here for more information 

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Your whole perception of food is different. Often when people try on our iRo Lenses that can’t believe we would put something brown in our mouths!

Although colour blind people do develop strategies to help them with food, shopping for fruit and vegetables can cause issues, but they adapt. They learn that ripe apples are darker than unripe apples and that generally, ripe fruit feels softer than unripe fruit.

Though it does get tricky with potatoes, as green potatoes aren’t as easy to pick, they can be dangerous as they contain a poisonous solution, solanine, which is particularly dangerous in pregnancy.

Texture becomes an essential part of cooking and eating. For example, it’s evident for coloured pasta and noodles. Just stirring a pot full of boiling water with uncooked pasta, then stirring a pot full of boiling water and cooked pasta, is a very different experience. Or try, taste, get the el dente texture in your mouth. Though if you aren’t sure and you keep testing you may end up with nothing in the pot!

To judge if peas are cooked in the pan when they are “wrinkled” they are ok but be quick; otherwise, they become hard.

So if you start thinking about everything you cook and how a colour vision deficit person sees it, it can be a real problem. People with a colour vision deficit often have trouble cooking meat as they can’t tell if it is cooked or not. How do you know if a piece of meat is cooked?

Texture again plays a part, stir-frying raw meat, partly cooked meat, and cooked meat can all feel different. Grilling meat is a time for everyone to use texture, probably some variant of the press-the-ball-of-your-thumb rule.

Though if you are not careful, you could easily give yourself food poisoning.

Even food safety experts will tell you that colour or texture isn’t the best way to judge when your steak cooked. Or your roast, pork chops, turkey, or other meats. Different lighting can also give a different look. So it is recommended that people who have colour vision problems always cook in the same light.

Or the best bet is to get a thermometer and a chart that shows the right temperature for cooking different meats. For example, cook:

Chicken breast to 67C

Hamburgers to 65C

Medium-rare steak to 57C

Or you could just –

Try our iRo Lenses today!

The iRo lens ‘home testing’ kit will enable you to determine which lens is best suited for you so you can enjoy new more vibrant colours for the very first time. This process is straightforward and comes with a step by step guide to assist you in selecting the most appropriate iRo lens for you.

These filters in the home testing kit show you exactly how you will see your new more vibrant colours with your iRo lenses. You can take them outside, look around and see your amazing new world of colours and see the world in all its beauty. So even if you don’t decide to purchase the iRo lenses these filters will at least show you how vibrant all the colours actually appear.

The next step is to purchase a testing kit click here, and if you enter in this code on check out you can receive the kit for half price – COLOUR

We will mail them out to you straight away and there is even an instruction video on our YouTube Channel on how to use the kit Click here to view

Once you have seen how amazing the iRo lenses will be for you then you may wish to purchase our iRo frames and lenses and this can be done over the phone or online.

*plus postage

The post The perils of cooking and eating food with a colour vision deficit appeared first on Colour Vision Optical.

So, in reality, Ninety-nine per cent of people who are “colour blind” can see some colour and are actually “colour deficient” or as we prefer to call them “iRochromatic”

Statistics reveal that most people with a moderate case of red/green colour blindness will only be able to correctly identify five colouring pencils from a box of 24. Colour blindness has long been known to affect boys more than girls.

People with Protanopia struggle with colours in the green, yellow and red spectrum. Those with Deuteranopia see even more pronounced problems in the same colour range, while those with Tritanopia can see red and green, but have problems with blue and yellow vision. In the gallery below, you can compare and contrast each of the three varieties against a normal image, and see the world like you have colour blindness.

Different people may have very different levels of colour blindness. One person may notice that red and orange colours have a green tinge, while others may see only black when they look at a red object. If you have no colour vision, you may only see black, white and grey, and might only realise that something is a different colour because it is darker or lighter than other objects

For colour blind people, the world can appear grey and dull. Some colours are indistinguishable, such as purple and blue. Imagine if you couldn’t see all the colours in a sunset? red appears brown, red and green traffic lights look white; peanut butter appears green and pink looks grey.

But now our iRo Lenses colour blind glasses that feature sophisticated technology that has had astounding results, can help.

The lenses help enhance the vibrancy and saturation of colours and help discern between colours along with the depth and detail perception. All of this without changing the colours the colour deficient person already sees.

There is no cure for colour deficiency, but our lenses can help about 95% of people who have this.

Here’s some trivia for you, unlike today, during WWII soldiers who were colour blind were desired. Since they couldn’t see green they were able to see through camouflage used by the enemies.

The post Is it red or green? appeared first on Colour Vision Optical.

We can help, and this is all you need to do:

Step one

Firstly, head to our iRo Lenses web site and take the Colour Vision test click here then return here for step two.

Welcome back – Did you discover anyone in the household who has some colour vision problems?

Don’t worry, we have discovered, even people who don’t have a colour vision inherited condition only one in 100 people scored 10 out of 10. Those high achievers tended to be aged between 31 and 35, while people in their 80s on average struggled to get four out of 10. So in perceiving shades of colour correctly, age is also a factor.

Another way of checking if you may have a colour vision deficit is to look back in the family history on your Mother’s side. The Mother carries the genes and passes it on to sons. Is there anyone in the family who may have had this? Sometimes they may not have known. There may have been jokes about Uncle ??? who always dressed funny – because he didn’t know his colours?

Women can also have a colour vision deficit, a smaller percentage, about one in 300, so it is not unheard of. It is typically inherited genetically and carried recessively on the X chromosome.

Another thing to check is each eye as it’s extremely rare, but it’s possible to have normal colour vision in one eye and colour blindness in the other eye. This is called unilateral dichromacy.

Here’s a piece of trivia – Lots of colour blind people are surprised to find out that peanut butter is not green.

We love giving people the ability to see colours. The look on their faces as they experience it for the first time, it truly is an amazing moment. We recognise that there are many thousands of people around the world who do not see colours to the same level of intensity as they could, but now they no longer need to endure that feeling of disappointment.

That brings us now to Step Two

If you have discovered there is a colour vision deficit in your household, we have actual iRo Lenses in our in-home testing kits. These help with social distancing as you don’t have to go the Optometrist to have your eyes checked – just yet.

The iRo lens ‘home testing’ kit will enable you to determine which lens is best suited for you so you can enjoy new more vibrant colours for the very first time. This process is straightforward and comes with a step by step guide to assist you in selecting the most appropriate iRo lens for you.

These filters in the home testing kit show you exactly how you will see your new more vibrant colours with your iRo lenses. You can take them outside, look around and see your amazing new world of colours and see the world in all its beauty. So even if you don’t decide to purchase the iRo lenses these filters will at least show you how vibrant all the colours actually appear.

The next step is to purchase a testing kit click here, and if you enter in this code on check out you can receive the kit for half price – COLOUR

We will mail them out to you straight away and there is even an instruction video on our YouTube Channel on how to use the kit Click here to view

Once you have seen how amazing the iRo lenses will be for you then you may wish to purchase our iRo frames and lenses and this can be done over the phone or online.

*plus postage

The post See colours for the first time only $15* appeared first on Colour Vision Optical.

Even Wikipedia seems to make light of colour blindness, stating that it is a minor inconvenience and colour blind people “usually adapt”.

However the reality is it can affect just about every area of a person’s life – from the type of career they can have, to video games, driving, grocery shopping, choosing outfits, eating food – and much more!

In most cases, it’s better called a “colour vision deficiency” or as we refer to it “iRochromatic” as we believe that Colour Blind gives the wrong impression, you aren’t blind, you can see colours you just have a deficit in this area. Colour blindness is also called Daltonism, after the scientist John Dalton.

Colour blindness is usually an inherited condition as a result of genes passed on by their parents. It affects more men than women, with 8% of the male population affected, and around .5% of females. If a woman is red-green colour blind, all her sons will also be colour blind.

You can have problems with colour as you get older as a result of injury to the eye, optic nerve or brain, or due to diabetes, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.

Sadly there is no cure for colour blindness, though there have been huge advances made into supporting those with the condition, especially with our iRo lenses.

iRo Lenses are from our fully trained Optometrists, they help people with colour blindness to distinguish between certain hues which would otherwise appear the same to them.

Of the various brands available, iRo lenses are said to be the only ones which help wearers to pass the Ishihara test for colour blindness.*

But did you know quite a lot of people with normal colour vision can’t pass an Ishihara plates test free of errors?

There is also some promising research in the area of gene technology. Scientists proposed that injecting genetic material into the eye could repair the faulty receptors responsible for colour blindness; and while animal trials have been successful, there is no news yet on human trials. There are still some limitations as it may only be suitable for treating congenital colour blindness.

However, until this happens our iRo lenses can help or try one of our testing kits, they make a great gift. Click here to purchase

Source https://thriveglobal.com/stories/discrimination-against-the-colour-blind/

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Although here at Colour Vision Optical we don’t like the term ‘Colour Blind” and prefer iRochromatic or even Colour Vision deficient, we can’t ignore the fact that worldwide Colour Blind Awareness day happens September 6 each year.

So why September 6?

Firstly this is John Dalton’s birthday. Who is John Dalton? John Dalton, a chemist, physicist, and meteorologist were best known for introducing the atomic theory into chemistry. He was also the first scientist to study colour blindness, publishing a paper on the topic, entitled, Extraordinary Facts Relating to the Vision of Colours with Observations. After discovering his own colour blindness, he began conducting rudimentary tests on his friends to see if they shared his colour vision impairment. His observations contributed to the discovery of what we now call colour vision deficiency (CVD) or more commonly known as colour blindness.

Colour Blind Awareness day was first established in the UK to help raise awareness and support for colour blind people, especially colour blind children and their families and teachers. It also helps people playing sport. To spread the word this year they released a video to bring to life the everyday situations faced in the classroom by children who are colour blind.

Please watch the video and share, as the message is as important to everyone around the world as it is to the UK. Remember we can also help with a formal diagnosis, our testing kits which can be mailed out and our iRochromatic lenses available from our fully trained Optometrists around Australia and New Zealand

Here are more facts you may not know about John Dalton:

Dalton was born September 6th, 1766 into a Quaker family in Cumberland, England.

September 6th is also International Colour Blind Awareness Day! This day was chosen to rally the cause of colour blind awareness because it coincides with John Dalton’s birthday.

His family were Dissenters, Protestant Christians who separated from the Church of England, and because this barred him from attending a formal university, he received personal instruction from John Gough, a blind philosopher who was gifted in the sciences and arts.

Dalton believed that his colour blindness was due to discolouration in his aqueous humour, believing it was bluish, filtering colours incorrectly (this turned out to be incorrect).

Colour blindness is often called ‘Daltonism’ internationally as a reference to John Dalton.

Dalton’s brother was the only person he knew that saw colour in the same inaccurate way that he did (colour blindness is inherited through the X chromosome).

After his death, his eyes were preserved for further study of his colour blindness.

DNA from Dalton’s eye was analysed in 1994 and contrary to earlier assumptions that he was most likely had protan-type colour vision deficiency, according to his genetic analysis he was found be a strong deutan-type.

In 1803, he published a scientific paper on the law of partial pressures of gas, now known as Dalton’s law of partial pressures.

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