Colour Blindness

True Colours

Chromagen lenses, in the form of soft contact lenses or sunglasses, can be used very effectively to ‘cure’ colour blindness. The prescription will match one of the 9 coloured filters, in a variety of depths, to one or both eyes depending on the severity of the colour deficiency. The filter uses a tint over the black pupil of the eye allowing a specific wavelength of light through which produces a dramatic improvement in colour perception.

Colour ‘blindness’ is a rather misleading term, a more accurate description is colour ‘deficiency’ because only certain colours and shades can’t be distinguished. No one is quite sure why some people suffer but the condition is typically genetic and affects far more men than women.

We have treated a wide range of people, nearly all of whom have benefited from a more colourful world sometimes with new career paths to follow. These include airline pilots (although the use of chromagen lenses are restricted for some commercial licences), fashion designers, photographers, electricians and electronic engineers. Amazingly, we have attracted patients from all over the world including USA, South Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Japan. Currently, we are treating a keen football fan who is very pleased to be able to differentiate between the two sides at every match, a gardener who has been amazed by the beauty of his spring flowers and painter & decorator who had once mistakenly used grey paint to patch up a green skirting board!

In the initial trials undertaken by the manufacturer, over 97% of colour blind people reported a significant enhancement to their colour vision.