We Help Patients With Achromatopsia Regain Visual Acuity

For most people, the world is full of beautiful colors. Red sunsets, blue oceans, yellow sunshine, purple flowers, and green trees surround them. However, some people are born with a genetic condition that makes them see the world in shades of black and white, an eye disease known as Achromatopsia.

What Is Achromatopsia?

Achromatopsia is often confused with color blindness. Most people who are known to be colorblind can see some colors, but have trouble distinguishing between different shades of red, green, yellow, or blue. People with achromatopsia, however, experience total color blindness, so they can only see things in shades of black, white, or grey.

What Causes Achromatopsia?

Achromatopsia is a genetic condition, which is inherited at birth from both parents. It’s caused by a dysfunctional cone of the retina. The cones of the retina are responsible for distinguishing color in images, so when these cones are impaired, color vision is affected. Damaged cones in the retina also affect visual acuity, which causes some vision loss in patients with this condition.

Achromatopsia and Low Vision

In addition to a complete lack of color vision, patients with Achromatopsia usually have blurry vision and sensitivity to light and glare. In environments with bright lights, the patient’s vision typically decreases. If you have Achromatopsia, you probably tend to squint or shield your eyes from bright lights or from sunlight when you’re outside. The condition can also cause Nystagmus (involuntary and repetitive eye movements).

If this sounds familiar, we can help. With the right combination of low vision aids and glasses, we can strengthen visual acuity, protect against painful glare or bright lights, and help you or your child can live a full, independent life, even with Achromatopsia.

How a Low Vision Doctor Can Help Manage Achromatopsia

Dr. Yanna Nachtigall can provide you or your child with the right low vision aids to help reduce light sensitivity (photophobia) and strengthen visual acuity. This can make everyday kinds of tasks easier, including activities such as driving a car, riding a bike, watching TV, working on a computer, and more.

Depending on the severity of a patient’s condition, the doctor may recommend special filtered lenses to control how much light enters the eye and the direc

tion or angle it enters from. Digital magnifiers can magnify text on a screen, allowing the patient to see it clearly and in more detail. These kinds of devices can make things like watching a movie, curling up on the sofa with your favorite book, or reading a restaurant menu significantly easier.

Hope for Those Suffering with Achromatopsia

If your world is a grayscale of black and white, if you suffer from blurry vision and pain from bright lights, don’t lose hope. At the Low Vision Optometry of Central Pennsylvania, we have the experience and advanced medical technologies and tools to help you experience better vision. Low vision aids and glasses can improve your visual acuity, which is shown to slow the eye movements caused by Nystagmus.

We help patients from all over the Lititz, Lancaster, York, and Hershey areas who suffer from Achromatopsia. Dr. Yanna Nachtigall will work closely with you to understand your needs and personal lifestyle.

So whether your child struggles with reading and writing in school, or you find it difficult to drive in the daytime, or computer work gives you painful headaches, we have the tools to ease your symptoms and achieve a positive outcome.

Let us maximize your remaining vision, so that you can focus on enjoying your life to the fullest. Schedule a consultation with the Low Vision Optometry of Central Pennsylvania today.