sudden color blindness

[Sharon4747]

My 29 year-old, otherwise healthy brother just woke up with sudden color blindness. He was always red-green colorblind, but now he says he's seeing everything in grey scale.

[JCottleMD]

Okay, the origin of the problem here is likely optic neuritis, which can produce grey-scale vision in persons who are already color-blind in the characteristic red-green spectrum. Certain retina problems can also cause this to occur, but optic neuritis would be the most likely cause at this point.

My suggestion is to gain a prompt referral to an opthalmologist.

Best regards,

J Cottle, MD