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NOTES AND NEWS
Hunters used to wear red vests, but that was changed to orange, as were roadworkers vests, because orange has yellow
in it and therefore people who are colorblind can see it better.
Many celebrities have color vision deficiency (CVD) or colorblindness, including Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. During their debates,
colors normally used had to be altered. Also affected are Matt Laurer, Paul Newman, Jack Nicklaus and the late Bing Crosby.
TESTING
Children as young as three can be tested easily using the Hardy-Rand-Ruttler that uses geometrical shapes or the Ishihara
that uses numbers. The child is given a paintbrush or a cotton-tipped applicator to "trace" the figures. For young
children, when a second number is used, the number is simply covered up.
Acquired Color Vision Deficiencies
Aging can produce subtle changes in color vision. The most common color change results from the development of cataracts,
or "foggy" lenses in the eye, which interfere with visual acuity and color vision, making some colors dull, especially blue
and yellow. After having cataract surgery where a foggy lens is removed and replaced with an artificial lens, people commonly
comment that everything appears more colorful.
Seniors are also more likely to take medications that may distort or reduce color vision. Blue-yellow color vision can be
altered by certain medications used in seizure control and other medications used to treat heart ailments and arthritis. Aspirin
and quinine can affect red-red color vision, as can some drugs used in the treatment of psychosis. Rarely, color vision may
be adversely affected by trauma, such as a blow on the head.
Acquired color vision deficiencies can sometimes be medically treated.
The main colors in Arlene's website are blue and yellow, the colors that even the most severely colorblind people can usually
see, although they will confuse them with other colors.
Many occupations are not suited to those with CVD, as detailed in Arlene's book, Color is in the Eye of the Beholder
.
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TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE
by Susan Proctor
Susan Proctor, Professor Emeritus, Division of Nursing, California State University, Sacramento, was asked by the National
Association of School Nurses to write a vision screening manual. She wrote TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE: SCREENING THE VISION OF CHILDREN
IN SCHOOL. In her chapter on color vision screening, she referred to Arlene Evans many times and gave her website.
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