If you have read all my blogs up to this point, you would know that I write about colour corrective glasses a lot, and for good reason! Ever since I got my pair of glasses, my life has been changed for the better. There is a lot less struggle in my day to day life, and the world just seems so much brighter. But how do these glasses work? And do they work at all? Well you’ve come to the right place as this blog will be all about colour corrective glasses.
What are colour corrective glasses?
Colour corrective glasses are glasses that enable colour blind people to “see” certain colours that they couldn’t before. To understand how these glasses work, you need to understand how the eye sees colour (I have a whole blog entry on this, go give it a read). The eye has 3 cones that perceive colour, and overlap to distinguish certain colours, however colour blindness can cause the cones to overlap more, meaning it's harder to see colour. These glasses work by cutting out these overlapping wavelengths, which allows the wearer of the glasses to easily distinguish different colours.
The two main companies that do this work are Enchroma and Pilestone. The way Enchroma developed this technology is actually quite funny, and like all good inventions was created by accident. Don McPherson was developing protective glasses for doctors performing laser surgery. During a game of ultimate frisbee (the only sport with ultimate in its name) his friend, who happened to be colour blind, tried them on and discovered a whole new world of colour. Since then, with the help of Andrew Schmeder, McPherson has developed the glasses, and Enchroma, to what it is today.
Do the glasses work?
In my personal experience, the Pilestone glasses work, and they work well. Seeing red and green for the first time was shocking and bright. I would say that I didn’t know I was missing out until I tried it, and boy was it worth it. It finally made me understand why my parents would make me change my clothes when I came down with an all red outfit. Now it must be said that these glasses aren’t a miracle cure, Pilestone themselves say that the glasses will only work for 4 out of 5 people, and both Enchroma and Pilestone stress that these glasses aren’t a cure. Think of it as how reading glasses won’t cure farsightedness. Unfortunately a permanent cure for colour blindness will only come in the future, but until then this is a good alternative.
It must also be said that these glasses are not cheap. Ever since this technology made it onto the scene it has been decreasing in price, but with the average cost of the glasses being £90, they are still pricey. That's why I have been lobbying art galleries and places of natural beauty, like Windsor Great Park, Kew and Wisley, to make these glasses available as an added service at their venues. More on this in my next blog.
How do you know you need these glasses?
Fortunately Enchroma and Pilestone make this easy for you. If you go to their respective websites and take their colour blind test, standard Ishihara test, you will know if your colour blind and what lens will suit you best. Best of all the glasses come in a variety of different frames, so you can pick something to suit your style.
*if you can't see the number in this you may have a colour blindness
Also a little reminder to you normal sighted people reading this (I see you), maybe these glasses would make for a pretty good Christmas gift for that colour blind person in your life. Remember 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women are colour blind so it is very difficult for you not to know a colour blind person. I hope you all learned something about colour corrective glasses. Thanks.
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