Different Types Of Color Blind Test

Now you can take online tests for color blindness from the comfort of your home. But any result of a color vision deficiency needs to be confirmed by other tests such as an Ishihara color plate, anomalscopy, and other tests in a doctor’s office.

In most cases, color blindness is a genetic disorder, that runs in the family. Therefore, if your first-degree relative has color vision deficiency, you are more likely to have the condition.

Human eyes usually have unique cells known as rods and cones that enable us to see. Rods detect light, while cones are responsible for color perception.

Three types of cones — red, green, and blue allow you to distinguish between colors. Any anomaly of the cones, including the lack of a single or more types, leads to color vision deficiency.

Various color blindness test allow doctors to understand if cones are functioning correctly and, if not, which ones are deficient.

Red-green color blindness that results from red or green cone abnormalities is the most common type of color vision deficiency. Other types of color blindness include blue-yellow and total blindness.

There is no cure for color blindness, but special lenses can alleviate the signs and aid you live a normal life.

What Is A Color Blind Test?

When you think you have color blindness because of a family history or difficulty in recognizing some shades, your doctor will conduct a color vision test to confirm the diagnosis.


A color-blind test involves reading numbers or special symbols formed by multi-colored dots on specific backgrounds.


People with color vision deficiency find it difficult to see letters or numbers formed by these dots. If you have total color blindness, you might not see anything on these plates.

Tests For Color Blindness

Color blindness can be detected by various methods such as the Ishihara color test, Cambridge color test, anomaloscope tests, etc.

1. Color Plate Test

There are multiple types of pseudoisochromatic color plate tests, with Ishihara charts being the most typical type.

The color plate tests need you to determine letters, shapes, or numbers made of dots featuring a specific color on a multi-colored background.

If you have an irregularity of the cones, you might not determine the pattern in the middle of the plate.

Besides the Ishihara test, color plate variants contain Dvorine, American Optical Hardy-Rand-Rittler, Tokyo Medical College, and City University Test. These tests check for other types of color blindness.

For example, the Ishihara test examines only red-green blindness, while the Hardy-Rand-Rittler can identify blue-yellow and red-green color vision deficiencies.

2. Cambridge Color Test

This is a lot like the Ishihara test, except that you look at a computer screen. You’ll test to find a “C” shape that is in distinct color from the background. It pops up randomly. When you see it, press one of four keys.

3. Arrangement Tests

Also known as hue tests, the arrangement test demands you to arrange blocks of distinct colors in a particular order.

The design of the tests makes them suitable for estimating different aspects of color vision, including fine hue discrimination, neutral zones, saturation discrimination, and color confusion.

If your work needs excellent color vision, arrangement tests are the most suitable option for testing and analyzing color deficiency.

While these tests are more objective, they are not suitable for the pediatric population, as they require patience, abstract arrangement, and cleverness.

4. Anomaloscope Test

Anomaloscope is an optical instrument with two different colored areas and control knobs.

Your doctor will ask you to look into the anomaloscope and match lights in the two fields to maintain the exact color and brightness. You will use the knobs to manage the colors.

Anomaloscope is the standard test for detecting color blindness. When conducted together with other tests, your doctor can accurately use the examination to categorize your color vision deficiency.

5. Farnsworth-Munsell 100 Hue Test

This test uses blocks or pegs in different shades of the same color. Your task is to line them up in a particular way. This test checks to see if you can determine slight color changes.

Businesses that require workers to see colors accurately sometimes use it.

6. Farnsworth Lantern Test

The U.S. military uses this to see if recruits have a mild or severe form of color blindness. You can join the armed forces if your condition is mild.

7. Online Color Blindness Tests

Online vision tests deliver an immediate self-assessment for color vision. Most online tests are a replica of the standard pseudoisochromatic plate tests like Ishihara, with trustworthy results in most cases.

Notably, aspects such as blue light filters and the type of machine can impact the result of online color vision tests.

If you want to screen for color blindness from the comfort of your home or office, you can attempt online tests.

Who Can Test For Color Blindness?

Color blindness is mainly an inherited vision condition with a male prevalence. One in ten men has a color deficiency, while only one in two hundred women hold the condition. Thus, males, especially those of Northern European descent, should conduct color blindness tests early.

If color deficiency runs in your family, screening for the condition early enough, irrespective of gender, is important.

Developed color vision deficiency can happen in people with any of the following local and systemic diseases:
  • Diabetes
  • Leukemia
  • Parkinsonism
  • Sickle cell disease
  • Glaucoma
  • Macular degeneration
Alcoholism and some medicines like hydroxychloroquine also raise the risk of acquiring color blindness. Screening for color vision deficiency is essential if you have any of the cited diseases.

What Age You Can Test For Color Blindness?

Since most color blindness is mainly an inherited vision condition, testing should start early.

Research shows that taking your child for color vision deficiency at age four, followed by proper treatment, is vital for optimal academic performance.

FAQs

How Do I Know If I'm Colorblind?

You can take the test for color blindness online such as Enchroma, but you must see an ophthalmologist or optometrist if the screening test is positive.

What Is The Most Precise Color-blind Test?

An anomaloscope test is very accurate in diagnosing color blindness, but you may need to add its results with information from other tests to classify the condition accurately.
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