Colour Blindness is a condition that affects a person’s ability to tell the difference between colours. Red and green often look like very similar shades. Up to 8% of males are affected but only 0.5% of females, and it is often inherited from the mother’s side of the family.
There is not just one type of ‘colour blind’. It can vary from very mild with no impact on day-to-day life to quite severe with just black and white vision.
The biggest question many people have about their colour blindness is how it will impact what jobs they can do. Some jobs need you to be able to complete basic tasks required for the job (eg. identify different coloured wires for electricians, accurately name clothes and car colours for police officer) but organisations such as the Defence Force and Metropolitan Fire Service are more strict. Colour blindness usually has no impact on car or truck drivers licenses.
At South Coast Optometrists we have specialised equipment which allows us to provide a comprehensive assessment of your colour vision as well as options that can help maximise your vision. We are the only practice in South Australia licenced to prescribe iRo colour vision correcting glasses.
For more information on colour vision visit https://www.colourblindawareness.org/