springmama Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I am wondering if I should be concerned. My 6 year old is colorblind. Not a big deal. However, when the dr. looked at his optic nerve, it is abnormal. It sorta kinda looked like the optic nerve of a kid with glaucoma....but not really....our doctor is a bit confused about what might cause this abnormality, as he's never seen it before. We went to see a glaucoma specialist, but he said there is no glaucoma. I understand that these two could be totally unrelated and that color blindness is not that uncommon. Until now I've thought he only confused green/orange. Today he's working on a math page that requires him to do a math problem, then color each little piece according to the answer. One of the colors is gray and he cannot seem to figure out which crayon to use. He actually seems to get all of his colors mixed up. I am so confused. Giving him this worksheet was a mistake, but he wanted to do it because my dd was doing one, so I made a copy for him to do as well. He also has a hard time noticing details. If I ask him to pick something up and hand it to me, half the time he can't find it. I've always thought it was just part of his quirkiness or just a boy thing, so I let it go. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 It sounds like you need to find someone that might have the answers beyond "I don't know." Were either doctor able to refer you to someone that might be able to help you out? Depending on where you are in AL, you might have a decent trip to find a good pediatric eye doctor. Is your son totally colorblind (sees only shades of black and white) or partial (trouble with certain colors)? I have 1 son that is partially colorblind, but he doesn't have much problem telling his colors apart unless they are in the dark shades. That isn't to say he doesn't see the "wrong" thing, just that what he visualizes is what he knows to be green, blue, purple, black. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I can only speak to the colorblindness. My dh is red/green colorblind and he sees pink as gray which may be what your ds is experiencing. You will have to work with him until he recognizes the color he sees as the color everyone else sees. My dh has difficulty with subtle color shadings. He can see blocks of color but throw a multicolor print at him and he will not see all the colors. On the upside if your son ever becomes a hunter he will be great at it since he will be able to see through camouflouge. It is very frustrating for me when driving with dh and he can spot the deer long before I do. The abnormality on the optic nerve sounds like something that needs to be followed by an eye specialist. It may be nothing but it is best to keep it monitored. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrixieB Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 It sounds like you need to find someone that might have the answers beyond "I don't know." :iagree: Can you take your son to a different opthomologist? Is there a university with a medical school within reasonable driving distance? There must be a doctor out there who has seen your son's optic nerve situation before... or who is willing to find out what it is, rather than saying "I don't know" and leaving it at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Agreeing with those who urge you to seek higher-grade medical opinion, even if you must travel a distance. The colour-blindness may be simply coincidental with a more serious problem. My father has red/green colour-blindness. He "goes" when the traffic light turns light blue (to him). He also was barred from promotion to officer rank in the Marines because of the condition. (Perhaps that no longer is an obstacle?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
micheller1 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 My son is color blind (red/green) as well. He will never see color like a person who is not color blind, so I try to not give him that expectation. We've tried to narrow down over the years what colors he does see but shades of color also give him problems. He also sees pink as gray. Purple is non-existent b/c it's all blue. Some shades of yellow and green and orange get mixed up. He sees a lot of extremely dark colors incorrectly as well. Like sometimes he thinks dark red is brown. We've just tried to not make it a big deal. It is what it is and we just work around it. I surely never ask him to color coordinate anything haha!! As far as the other issue, I would see an eye doctor who specializes in eye care. Not all eye drs at any given clinic are actual doctors and it may be best to bring him to someone at like a children's hospital or something? Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Agreeing with those who urge you to seek higher-grade medical opinion, even if you must travel a distance. The colour-blindness may be simply coincidental with a more serious problem. :iagree: Possibly look for some sort of eye institute. At the very least, they could steer you to an eye doctor in your area that could better evaluate your son's eyes. (I'd make a phone call or contact them online and ask for doctor recommendations.) A quick internet search let me to this one in Alabama. There are probably others, but I don't know what area you're in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 :iagree: Possibly look for some sort of eye institute. At the very least, they could steer you to an eye doctor in your area that could better evaluate your son's eyes. (I'd make a phone call or contact them online and ask for doctor recommendations.) A quick internet search let me to this one in Alabama. There are probably others, but I don't know what area you're in. UAB was the first place to detect my son's color blindness. He had been seen yearly from 2 on at another doctor and they never even bothered to check. If you can, I would get them into their pediatric eye clinic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photomo Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 I don't know anything about the color blindness but you mentioned the dr said something looked abnormal with the optic nerve. My daughter was born with optic nerve hypoplasia of the right eye and has partial blindness in that eye. The optic nerve did not fully form in the womb. We see a pediatric opthamologist that diagnosed it. We went because we thought she just had a lazy eye. It might be worth it to find someone that knows something about that condition to take a look at him. However, when the dr. looked at his optic nerve, it is abnormal. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 For the color blindness, please stick to labeled crayons and markers and teach him to read the colors. My son got in so much trouble in school for coloring things the wrong color although we repeatedly told his teachers he was color blind. Check out this site or this site to get an idea of how the world looks to him. I agree with the rest. You need a better answer than "I don't know" for an optic nerve anomaly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Colorblindness has to do with abnormal cone cells on the retina (back of the eye). I've never heard of the optic nerve playing any role. I'm mildly colorblind, which I didn't realize until I was a teen. I can always pass the hidden number tests that the eye doctor gives. My dad is colorblind as are my maternal uncles (and my late maternal grandpa) but the type my dad has is different than the one on my mom's side of the family. So I can see everything okay except where the two types overlap. Certain shades of olive green look brown to me, certain shades of bluish-purple look blue to me, and certain shades of bluish-green look bluish-gray to me. DS is colorblind like my mom's side of the family, and given that DH is colorblind as well, my girls almost certainly have mild colorblindness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Definitely go to UAB if at all possible. We wasted 6 months of treatment time with dd's lazy eye working with a regular eye doctor. The ped. ophthalmologist at UAB is fantastic! Ds is very far-sighted (around +8), so both were seen at UAB until we moved to VA. We really hated that we could not take them there anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springmama Posted August 3, 2011 Author Share Posted August 3, 2011 (edited) Thanks everyone. Yes, we did go to UAB's Callahan Eye Hospital. Our pediatric ophthalmologist was the one who referred us. Both doctors have said that they suspect it's just an odd abnormality that isn't a big deal but both want to see him again in 6 months to see if there are any changes. BTW- Dr. Metz, the pediatric ophthalmologist that sees my son is amazing. He's like the kid whisperer. He takes his time and is gentle and gets the kids to sit still and cooperate like no doctor I've ever seen before. I know that hereditary color blindness is caused by abnormalities in the cones; however, there are other types of non-hereditary color blindness that occur as a result of optic nerve damage. I guess what I'm worried about at the moment is the possibility that his color blindness is getting worse, which would be an indicator of a connection between the optic nerve abnormality. In this case it wouldn't be the hereditary type and that would worry me. My fear is that the optic nerve damage will get worse or is a symptom of something bad. Edited August 3, 2011 by springmama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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