The distinctive aspect of human genetics known as eye color has captivated scientists and curious minds for ages. Numerous hereditary and environmental factors affect our eye color, and it can change over time for a variety of reasons. In this post, we'll look at how eye color varies over time, as well as the elements that contribute to those changes.
- The genetics that underlie eye color: Genetics is the main factor that influences eye color. Specific genes regulate the creation and distribution of pigments in the iris, the colorful portion of the eye, and you inherit the color of your eyes from your parents. Melanin and lipochrome are the principal pigments in for determining eye color.
- The function of melanin: Our skin, hair, and eyes all have color thanks to melanin, a dark brown or black pigment. The amount and type of melanin present in the stroma, the iris's outermost layer, affect eye color. Brown eyes are the result of high melanin levels, whereas blue or green eyes are the result of low levels. The color of the eyes darkens with melanin levels.
How eye color develops
While genetics are very important, there are other things that can influence how eye color develops:
- Age: Because their irises have low levels of melanin, newborns frequently have blue or gray eyes at birth. Melanin production may rise as they develop, changing the color of their eyes. During childhood and adolescence, the eye color gradually darkens for many people.
- Lighting: Different types of lighting can affect how eye color appears. Depending on the illumination, eyes might appear lighter or darker.
- Medical diseases: Due to the lack or reduction of melanin, several medical diseases, such as albinism, can cause distinctive eye hues.
- Illness or Injury: Eye illnesses or injuries can also change eye color. For instance, an eye injury can harm the iris and alter its color.
Reasons for changes in eye color
Several factors can cause changes in eye color:
- Aging: When previously indicated, when melanin levels in the iris alter with age, eye color can also naturally shift.
- Injury or disease: Trauma or specific medical diseases can harm the iris, changing the color of the eyes.
- Medical interventions: As a side effect of some medical interventions, such as glaucoma drugs, eye color changes may occur.
- Heterochromia: This disorder, which is frequently inherited, causes two eyes to be different colors or variations in one eye.
How can eye color be changed?
Eye color temporarily changing
Wearing contact lenses is the most popular way to alter your eye color. Different colored contact lenses are available:
- OPAQUE: These are completely different colors since they are solid and opaque. The most widely used opaque contact lens colors are blue, grey, brown, green, or violet. These are transparent enhancements that bring out the color of your eyes' natural pigment. They intensify the color of your eyes and aid in defining the margins of your iris. For instance, these lenses will intensify the color of your jade green eyes, giving you emerald eyes.
- Visibility: These lenses don't affect the color of your eyes; instead, they have tiny blue or green dots that slightly alter your eye color.
- Enhancement: Some lenses, namely decorative lenses used as fashion accessories, can be bad for your eyes. You run the risk of receiving damaged or dirty lenses if you purchase decorative lenses without a prescription. Wearing these glasses carries the following risks:
- Hazy vision
- Scorching and itchy eyes
- Increase in the amount of water produced in the eyes
- Abrasion of the cornea, often known as a scratch,
- Blindness
- Having a reddened eye
- Terrible eye discomfort
If any of the symptoms mentioned above apply to you, get medical attention right away. Untreated symptoms might develop into severe infections that can cause blindness.
Permanently changing eye color
The use of lens implant surgery began with the treatment of serious eye disorders and injuries. But it can also be used to permanently change eye color. A synthetic iris that has been folded to fit the opening is implanted after the surgeon creates a very small incision in the cornea. Your eyes will thereafter appear more natural thanks to the spread-out artificial iris that is placed from beneath the cornea. These days, cosmetic advantages above medicinal ones have increased the procedure's notoriety.
The following complications could occur for patients who undergo this surgery for cosmetic reasons, say the doctors:
- A slight loss of vision
- As the clear lens becomes obscured, cataracts develop.
- Corneal damage
- Inflammation of the cornea
- Inflammation, redness, and pain in the eyes
- Cosmetic surgery is new, and there needs to be more studies on it up to this point. There needs to be more proof that this procedure is both secure and efficient. Therefore, it is advisable to discuss this operation with the doctor and fully comprehend all the terms and circumstances prior to having the surgery.
Through surgery and contact lenses, people can change the color of their eyes. You must see a doctor right away if you experience any eye problems.
How to deal with color-changing eyes
From the time they start to walk until they are seniors, most people will have the same distinctive eye color. An infant's eyes may appear more blue-gray throughout the first few months of life before becoming darker as the eye pigment matures. By the time they are nine months old, the majority of newborns have their permanent eye color. However, a few factors can alter eye color at any age.
Visit an ophthalmologist as soon as possible if you notice a noticeable change in the color of either of your eyes.
Conclusion:
The genetics and other variables that affect eye color make it a complex feature. While our original eye color is mostly determined by genetics, it can change over time as a result of things like Aging, injury, or disease. Our appreciation of the complex genetic and biological processes that give each person their uniqueness is increased when we comprehend how eye color develops and the causes of its fluctuations. Schedule an appointment with Casey Optical Too best optometrists in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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