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“Colour
blind” is the wrong expression. Very few people are totally colour
blind, but quite a few people have a colour vision deficiency. In fact
in most developed countries 8% of men and 0.4% of women have a colour
vision deficiency, about half of whom have a severe deficiency and half
a mild one.
Colour is important in medicine. Medical practitioners need to be able
to see the redness of rashes, the yellowness of jaundice, and the
blueness and purple when the patient is cyanosed, the pallor of anaemia
and shock, and the colours of the healthy body. They need to be able
see fresh blood in stools, vomit and sputum, the stains that
differentiate cells in histology, and the colour codes used in
hospitals and in specialised medical instruments.
It is well established that medical practitioners who have colour
vision deficiency have some problems when diagnosis and care of
patients depends on recognising colours. It should also be realised
that the colour blind doctor may not always notice that something has
been missed because of an inability to perceive the colour of a
clinical sign.
This site is designed to provide information for medical practitioners,
medical students and prospective medical students who have colour
vision deficiency.
Some key issues
• How do I find out if I have colour vision
deficiency? How is colour vision deficiency diagnosed, what tests are
used, what do the tests mean? Is your colour vision deficiency mild or
severe?
• Find out more about colour vision
deficiency. There are 7 different kinds, some severe, some mild.
• Problems doctors and medical
students have in their work because of their colour vision deficiency.
• I am colour blind. Should I study
medicine? Can I get into a medical course?
• Is there treatment for abnormal
colour vision?
• Tips for the colour blind doctor
and medical student.
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