Can women have tritanopia?

Yes, as often as men, because the gene is not on the X chromosome.

What colors can people with tritanopia see?

Reds and greens well, and many pinks, reds and teals. Blue and green, and yellow and pink, are the pairs that run together.

Is blue-yellow color blindness the same as tritanopia?

Tritanopia is its complete form. Tritanomaly is the milder one, and blue-yellow loss can also develop later in life.

Colors › Types of color blindness

Tritanopia and tritanomaly

Tritan color blindness is the blue-yellow kind. It comes from the cones that respond to short, blue wavelengths. It is rare, and unlike red-green color blindness it is as common in women as in men.

Grand Prismatic Spring, in typical color vision — Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone, in typical vision and in tritanopia. Photo: Yellowstone National Park Service, Public domain

Grand Prismatic Spring, simulated as tritan color vision — Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone, in typical vision and in tritanopia. Photo: Yellowstone National Park Service, Public domain

What changes

Blue and green look alike. Turquoise, teal and sea green run together.
Yellow and pink or light purple can look alike, and yellows can look pale or pinkish.
Purple and red move closer.
Red and green stay clearly different, which is why a tritan person usually passes the red-green plates in an eye test.

Many tritan people describe a world of pinks, reds and teals rather than the blues and yellows of red-green color blindness.

A balloon festival, in typical color vision — Hot air balloons keep their patterns, and swap their colors. Photo: Jiafei Slay Queen, CC0

A balloon festival, simulated as tritan color vision — Hot air balloons keep their patterns, and swap their colors. Photo: Jiafei Slay Queen, CC0

Tritanomaly or tritanopia

In tritanomaly the blue cones are there but weaker, so blues and greens, and yellows and pinks, are harder to tell apart. In tritanopia they are missing, and those colors match.

Inherited tritan color blindness affects roughly 1 in 10,000 people, though estimates vary a lot. The gene is on chromosome 7, not the X chromosome, so women have it as often as men, and one altered copy from either parent can be enough.

When blue-yellow vision changes later

Color vision that changes during life more often affects blue and yellow than red and green. The lens of the eye slowly yellows with age, and some eye and general health conditions affect the blue cones first. A change in your color vision is worth mentioning to an optometrist or ophthalmologist.

Umbrellas over a street, in typical color vision — Umbrellas over a street: the blues and greens merge, and so do the yellows and pinks. Photo: Szalax, CC0

Umbrellas over a street, simulated as tritan color vision — Umbrellas over a street: the blues and greens merge, and so do the yellows and pinks. Photo: Szalax, CC0

Everyday life

Status lights: blue and green LEDs, as on chargers and routers, can look the same.
Maps: water and parkland, or blue and green lines on a transit map.
Food: a yellow banana and a pink grapefruit, or mold on bread.
Clothes: navy, black and dark green; yellow, cream and pink.

The free test on this site includes plates for tritan vision. It is a game, not a diagnosis.

Take the free color blind test

Questions

Is tritanopia rare? Yes. Inherited tritan color blindness affects roughly 1 in 10,000 people, though estimates vary.
Can women have tritanopia? Yes, as often as men, because the gene is not on the X chromosome.
What colors can people with tritanopia see? Reds and greens well, and many pinks, reds and teals. Blue and green, and yellow and pink, are the pairs that run together.
Is blue-yellow color blindness the same as tritanopia? Tritanopia is its complete form. Tritanomaly is the milder one, and blue-yellow loss can also develop later in life.