Can laser eye surgery fix colour blindness?

Colour blindness is a condition where people cannot differentiate between certain colours or see them differently from how the majority perceives them. It affects 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women worldwide. For them, the world is a different place, as they miss out on the beauty of colours that most of us take for granted. That is why many people have been asking if laser eye surgery can fix colour blindness; unfortunately, no, it can’t.

What does laser eye surgery do?

Laser eye surgery, with treatments such as LASIK or PRK, corrects refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism by reshaping the cornea. It works by changing the way light enters the eye, focusing it onto the retina for a clearer image. Unfortunately, colour blindness occurs in the part of the eye that is not affected by laser surgery. This condition is caused by a defect in the cone cells of the retina that detect colour, which cannot be altered with laser eye surgery.

Laser eye surgery cannot treat colour blindness

The truth is that no surgical procedure can cure this genetic disorder. Many people with colour blindness have learned to live with it and adjust to their surroundings without treatment. Others can use devices such as colour filters or special glasses that help enhance their colour perception or distinguish between certain hues.

Colour blindness rarely poses a threat to a person’s health, but it may limit one’s ability to perform certain jobs, such as pilots or electricians, which require good colour vision. If you are seeking laser eye surgery for any refractive error, your eye doctor will perform a colour vision test to make sure you are not colour blind or have any other colour vision defects that could affect the outcome of the surgery.

While laser eye surgery has proven to be an effective treatment for various types of eyesight problems, colour blindness is not one of them. Laser eye surgery cannot cure colour blindness or improve colour perception, but it can greatly improve your quality of life and vision! Book a free assessment with us to find out more about laser eye surgery.