My Life is Living with Color Blindness

"Which color is that?" is my often question when I was a kid. I got used to it without knowing I was already color blind back then. I always argued with my friends, classmates and people around me 'coz I always insisted that color "Red" which is actually "Green" and vice versa. I felt really shamed every time I remember those moments. Now, I learned how to handle it like most other difficulties which arise from my color vision deficiency.

Most of the time I think traffic lights are one of the biggest issue for everyday for suffering from a color vision deficiency, but I was wrong. The colors for traffic lights are very well chosen and they are always arranged in a certain order.
Sometimes I was suffering from moderate to strong color vision deficiency:

A Sunburn can’t really be seen, only if the skin is almost glowing.
If meat is cooked can’t be told by its color.
There is no difference between the colors for vacant (green) and occupied (red).
Flowers and fruits can’t be that easily spotted sometimes.
And you can’t tell if a fruit or vegetable is ripe or not yet.
Every electrical device which uses LED lights to indicate something is a permanent source of annoyance.
Colored maps and graphics can sometimes be very hard to decipher.

Color blindness is not a form of blindness at all, but a deficiency in the way you see color. With this vision problem, you have difficulty distinguishing certain colors, such as blue and yellow or red and green.

Color blindness (or, more accurately, color vision deficiency) is an inherited condition that affects males more frequently than females. According to Prevent Blindness America, an estimated 8 percent of males and less than 1 percent of females have color vision problems.

Red-green color deficiency is the most common form of color blindness.

Much more rarely, a person may inherit a trait that reduces the ability to see blue and yellow hues. This blue-yellow color deficiency usually affects men and women equally.

Color Blindness Symptoms And Signs

Do you have difficulty telling if colors are blue and yellow, or red and green? Do other people sometimes inform you that the color you think you are seeing is wrong?

CCTO: web photo

Normal vision vs. colorblind vision. The term "color blindness" is misleading, because most "colorblind" people see colors, but their color perception is limited and inaccurate. The most common form of color vision deficiency causes inaccurate perception of the colors red and green, making it easy to confuse them.

If so, these are primary signs that you have a color vision deficiency.

Contrary to popular belief, it is rare for a color blind person to see only in shades of gray.

Most people who are considered "color blind" can see colors, but certain colors appear washed out and are easily confused with other colors, depending on the type of color vision deficiency they have.

By Far the most Biggest issue is when you Find a Job

CTTO: Web Photo

Like any other boys , most youngsters dream of becoming a pilot, a firefighter, or policeman. However, these jobs and many more are prohibited from with color blindness. Professions that require good to perfect color vision Airline pilot, Air traffic controller, Firefighter, Police officer, Train driver, Some ranks in the armed forces, Some electrical/electronic engineers.

This article, Cover 7 Jobs that Specifically Prohibit those who Deal with Color Blindness and why these Restrictions are Placed on these Jobs.

Operating Motor Vehicles

If you hadn’t thought about this before, you will now. The operation of motor vehicles when colorblind prohibits organizations from hiring those with colorblindness. There are many countries in Europe and Asia that won’t allow those with colorblindness to obtain a driver’s license. Why?

CCTO: web photo (train driver)

Obviously, traffic lights with color indication are the main reason and a terrible train crash in Sweden in 1875 that prompted the decision in some European countries, to prevent those that are colorblind to get their license.

Pilot’s License

In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration requires that those who wish to become pilots are tested for normal color vision. Obviously, color is important when it comes to dash instruments, and keep in mind that gun signaling on the tarmac is important for normal vision as well.

CCTO: web photo

In some cases, pilots may be issued a license with restrictions, in which they are not allowed to fly at night, but those who cannot operate with color signals, will not be able to work for an airline.

Electrician

Photo Credit: Jonhdell Batolino

Photo Credit: Darwin Salubante

You may not think that an electrician would be on the last, but it is. Unless you know someone who is an electrician, you may not understand why normal color vision is important. However, electricians deal with color coded wires on a daily basis, making it vital for all electricians to be able to see color.

Photo Credit: Jonhdell Batolino

Photo Credit: Darwin Salubante

Firefighter

A firefighter is another profession that you may not have considered needs to have color vision. After all a fire is a fire right? This may be true, but it when comes to using the various pieces of equipment normal color vision is important.

CCTO: web photo

Think about the importance of extinguishers. Detecting the difference between a fire and a water extinguisher is important, so that water isn’t thrown onto an electrical fire.

Baggage Handler

While having normal vision is seemingly important for a pilot, it is equally important for those who work as baggage handlers too. Some bags are labeled with color coded symbols to indicate what the bags contain. If the bag is marked as not safe for a flight and it does end up on a plane, what could be the end result?

CCTO: web photo

Police Officer

Is it your dream to become a police officer? If you are colorblind it could be that you won’t be allowed to take on your dream job. You might not consider that color has much to do with this job on a regular basis, but in fact that is on the contrary.

CCTO: Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald Dela Rosa takes the oath during the start of a hearing investigating drug-related killings at the Senate headquarters in Manila (web photo)

Consider that police officers MUST be able to identify and report those that they are to apprehend. If someone gives a description of a suspect, a police officer who is colorblind will not be able to tell the difference in what is red and what is brown.

Painter

Being a painter always involves colors, every minute of every day. This job is listed for the obvious reasons, as a painter’s work can be varied. Imagine that you were to hire someone to repaint your home, and it was painted in the wrong color. You wouldn’t be thrilled, right?