Published papers on colour vision deficiency

General reading

(1) – Birch J. The Diagnosis of Defective Colour Vision. Oxford; Oxford University Press: 1993.
This is a standard text on abnormal colour vision written for optometrists and ophthalmologists. It describes tests of colour vision in detail.

(2) – McIntyre D. Colour Blindness. Dalton Publishing: 2002.
This is an excellent book written for the intelligent lay person by a physicist who has abnormal colour vision. Available at www.daltonism.org.uk.

Historical

John Dalton FRS 1766-1844 famous for his atomic theory and also for being the first to document abnormal colour vision.

(3) – Dalton J. Extraordinary facts relating to the vision of colours. Memoirs of the Literary Philosophical Society of Manchester: 1798. 5:28-45.
This is the first report of abnormal colour vision over 200 years ago. Dalton had abnormal colour vision and reports his experiences with colour. Abnormal colour vision has been called Daltonism in recognition of John Dalton’s observations of his own colour deficiency.

(4) – Mollon JD, Dulai KS, Hunt DM. Dalton’s colour blindness: an essay in molecular biography. John Dalton’s Colour Vision Legacy. Selected proceedings of the international conference. Dickinson CM, Murray IJ and Carden D, Eds; Taylor and Francis Ltd 1997: 15-33.
This is an account of Dalton’s historical contribution to understanding abnormal colour vision and reports a posthumous diagnosis of Dalton’s colour vision using DNA technology. He was a deuteranope.

(5) – Wilson G. Research on colour blindness with a supplement on the danger attending the present system of railway and marine coloured signals. Edinburgh; Southerland and Knox: 1855.
This is the first account showing that abnormal colour vision is common and has practical consequences at work. It led to the introduction of colour vision requirements for train drivers.

(6) – Jeffries BJ. Colour blindness-its dangers and detection. Cambridge, USA: Riverside Press. 1883.
Another early account of the problems of those with abnormal colour vision including a report of a physician who had trouble with the colour of throat ulcers, gangrene and sores.

Articles on the handicap of abnormal colour vision in general

(7) – Cole BL. The handicap of abnormal colour vision. Clin and Exp Optom 87; 2004: 288-292. DOWNLOAD PDF
This is a comprehensive review of the evidence the problems those with abnormal colour vision are likely to have including a section on problems in the practice of medicine.

(8) – Cole BL. Does defective colour vision deficiency really matter? E Drum. Colour Vision Deficiences X1; Dordrecht; Kluwer: 1993. 67-86.

(9) – Cole and Lian Ka-Lee. Search for coloured objects in natural surroundings by people with abnormal colour vision. Cli and Exp Optom. 2006; 89, 3:144-149. DOWNLOAD PDF

(10) – Cole, BL and Steward, JM. Some (but only a few) colour vision defectives have no difficulty with colour. In: Dickinson, CM, Murray, IJ and Carden, D (eds) John Dalton’s Colour Vision Legacy. Lond; Taylor and Francis, 1997: 235 –239.
This paper is a follow-up to reference (9) and shows that only 7% of a sample of 102 persons with abnormal colour vision had no problems with colour.

(11) – Steward JM, Cole BL. What do colour vision defectives say about everyday tasks? Optom Vis Sci 1969; 66: 288-295. This paper reports the experiences with colour of 102 people with abnormal colour vision.

Articles on abnormal colour vision in medicine

(12) – Allwood MC, Tyler R. Colour vision and blood glucose self-monitoring in diabetics. Prac Diabetes 1988; 5: 110-12.

(13) – Athlenstiel H. Red-green blindness as a personal experience. London: Kodak Research Library; 1951.

(14) – Bradley GW. Disease, Diagnosis and Decision. John Wiley and Sons. Chichester. 1993: 56.

(15) – Burke E. Colour blindness in medical students. Student poster demonstration. St. George’s Hospital Medical School, London. Unpublished. 2005.

(16) – Burke E. Have you been given any career advice? Unpublished. 2005. DOWNLOAD PDF

(17) – Campbell JL, Spalding JA, Mir FA, Birch J. Doctors and the assessment of clinical photographs-does colour vision matter? Br J Gen Pract 1000; 49: 495-461.

(18) – Campbell JL, Griffin L, Spalding JAB, Mir FA. The effect of abnormal colour vision on identifying and outlining coloured clinical signs and to count stained bacilli in sputum. Clin Exp Optom 2005; 88: 376-381. DOWNLOAD PDF

(19) – Campbell JL, Spalding JA, Mir FA, Birch J. Doctors and the assessment of blood glucose testing sticks: does colour blindness matter? Br J Gen Pract 2000; 50: 393-395.

(20) – Campbell JL, Spalding JAB, Mir FA. The description of physical signs of illness in photographs by physicians with abnormal colour vision. Clin Exp Optom 2004; 87: 334-338. DOWNLOAD PDF

(21) – Cockburn DM. Confessions of a colour blind optometrist. Clin Exp Optom 2004; 87: 350-352. DOWNLOAD PDF

(22) – Colour prejudice among pathologists [editorial]. Lancet 1991; 338: 1302-3.

(23) – Currier RD. A two-and-a-half coloured rainbow. Arch Neurol 1994; 51:1090-1092.

(24) – Davison SP, Myslinski NR. Shade selection by color vision-defective dental personal. J Prosthetic Dent 1990; 63: 97-101.

(25) – Fisher EW, Pflederer AG. The assessment of otoscopic skills of general practitioners and medical students: is there room for improvement? Br J Gen Pract; 1992, 42: 65-67.

(26) – Fisher E. 2002. Personal communication.

(27) – Gateway Disability Project. Draft Report. GMC. March 2008.

(28) – Goudie RB. Colour deficient vision should not prevent a career in histopathology. Brit Med J 1998; 316: 1750. 13.11.2003.

(29) – Hanning CD and Alexander-Williams. Oxymetry: a practical view. Brit Med J 1995. 311:367-369

(30) – Institute for Safe Medication Practices. Medication Safety Alert. Acute Care. The spectrum of problems using colour. 13.11.2003.

(31) – Institute for Safe Medication Practices. Medication Safety Alert. Acute Care. The spectrum of problems using colour.23.03.2008.

(32) – Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS, eds. To err is human. Building a safe health system. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1999.

(33) – Koningberger JC, van Norren D et al. Does colour vision deficiency in the endoscopist influence the accuracy of endoscopic diagnosis? An anonymous study with Dutch Gastrointestinal endoscopists. Endoscopy 1994;26: 549-553.

(34) – Leape LL, Berwick DM. Five years after To Err is Human: what have we learned? JAMA 2005; 18: 2384-90.

(35) – Little WS. Experiences of a red-blind physician with one ophthalmoscope. Practical advantage of colour-blindness with a case. Arch Ophthalmol 1881; 10: 20-22.

(36) – Logan JS. The red-green blind eye. Practitioner 1982; 226: 1969-71.

(37) – Moser JB Woznial WT, Naleway CA et al. Color vision in dentistry: a survey. J Am Dent Assoc 1985; 110: 509-10.

(38) – Olson IA. The use of colour filters by students with congenital colour vision defects in the learning of histology. Med Biol Illus 1971; 21: 52-53.

(39) – Poole CJM, Hill DJ. et al. Deficient colour vision and the interpretation of histopathological slides: a cross sectional study. BMJ 1997; 315: 1279-1281.

(40) – Price J. Otitis externa in children. J Roy Col Gen Pract 1976; 26: 610-615

(41) – Reiss MJ, Labowitz DA et al. Impact of colour blindness on recognition of blood in body fluids. Arch Int Med 2001; 161: 481-465.

(42) – Rigby HS, Warren BF et al. Colour perception in pathologists: the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-hue test. J Clin Path 1991;44: 745-748.

(43) – Rook A. et al. Textbook of Dermatology. 5th Ed Vol. 4. Oxford; Blackwell Scientific Publications: 1992 p 2863.

(44) – Seaton A. Personal View. BMJ 1975; 4: 345.

(45) – Spalding JAB. A doctor with an inherited defect of colour vision: the effect on clinical skills. Br. J Gen Pract 1993; 43: 32-33.

(46) – Spalding JAB. Colour vision deficiency in the medical profession. Review article. Br J Gen Pract 1999; 49: 469-274.

(47) – Spalding JAB. Doctors with inherited colour vision deficiency: their difficulties in clinical work, In Cavonius CR. Ed. Proceedings of the International Research Group for Colour Vision Deficiency. Kluwer International Publishing: 1995. 483-489. DOWNLOAD PDF

(48) – Spalding JAB. Medical students and congenital colour vision deficiency: unnoticed problems and the case for screening. Occup Med 1999; 49: 247-252.

(49) – Spalding JA. Color-blind physicians and the detection of blood in body products .Letter. Arch Intern Med. 2001; 8;161(18): 2266.

(50) – Spalding JAB. The confessions of a colour-blind physician. Clin Exp Optom 2004; 87:344-309. DOWNLOAD PDF

(51) – Spalding JAB and Arden GB. The Effects of Colour Blindness 2001. Binfield Print and Design. ISBN 0953995607.

(52) – Spalding JAB. Colour Blindness in Medical Students. DOWNLOAD PDF.

(53) – Takayanagi Y Relaxation of University Admission Restriction for students with Abnormal Color Vision J Jap Ophthmol Soc 1998; 59(2):123-124 (In Japanese). DOWNLOAD PDF of ORIGINAL AND PART TRANSLATION (first page of original Japanese document translated only)

(54) – Tocantis JM and Jones JR. Defective colour vision and its handicaps in medicine. Am J Science 1933; 293: 243-249.

(55) – Toet A, Kooi FL, Bijl P, Valeton JM. Visual conspicuity determines human target acquisition performance. Opt Eng 1998; 37(7): 1969-1975.

(56) – Vakil N, Knyrim K, Everbach E C. The appreciation of colour in endoscopy. Bailliere’s Clinical Gastroenterology 1991, 5, 1.

(57) – Voke J. Colour vision testing in specific industries and profession. London. Keeler. Colour-blind laboratory technologists. Letter. Lancet 1980:13-15.

(58) – Vorster BJ, Milner LV. Colour-blind laboratory technologists. Letter. Lancet 1979; 15,12: 1295.

(59) – Weigersma PA.Letter to the Editor, BMJ 2005, 8 Jan; 330:96.

(60) – Wu AW. Medical error: the second victim. The doctor who makes the mistake needs help too. BMJ 2000; 320: 726-737.

Articles on testing colour vision and treatments of colour blindness

(61) – Cole BL Assessment of inherited colour vision defects in clinical practice. Clin Exp Optom 2007; 90: 157-175. DOWNLOAD PDF
This paper is a bit technical because it is written for optometrists but it has a useful summary table of the various kinds of abnormal colour vision and descriptions and pictures of the colour vision tests most often used in optometry practices. It also has guidelines on how the test results should be interpreted. It has a large number of colour pictures of how the coloured world looks to people with abnormal colour vision.

(62) – Mancuso K, Hauswirth WW, Qiuhong Li, Connor TB, Kuchenbecker JA, Mauck MC, Neitz J, Neitz M. Gene therapy for red-green colour blindness in adult primates. Nature 2009 (Oct 8);461(7265):784-787.; Macmillan Publishers Limited.

(63) -Hovis JK. Long wavelength pass filters designed for the management of colour vision deficiencies. Optom Vis Sci 1997; 7: 222-30.

(64) – Swarbrick HA et al. The ChromaGen contact lens system: colour vision test and subjective responses. Ophthal Physiol Opt 2001; 21:182-196.
This paper and reference (59) above report on the effectiveness of coloured lenses as a means to help those with abnormal colour vision.

(65) -Wang Hwei-Zu. (Taiwain). Personal communication. 1995.

Additional references

(66) Cole BL, Harris RW. Caution: coloured medication and the colour blind. Lancet 2009; 374: 720.

Book for sale

“Effects of Colour Blindness”. JAB Spalding and GB Arden;1001. (£14.00).
This book llustrates with photographs some of the problems found in everyday life by those with colour vision deficiency . Use “Contact Us” on the Authors page to make a request.