Centrally tinted contact lenses. A useful visual aid for patients with achromatopsia

Achromatopsia (rod monochromacy) is a congenital color-vision defect of autosomal recessive inheritance due to severely abnormal or totally absent cone function. The disease is characterized by markedly reduced visual acuity, nystagmus, and, often, ametropia. Even under normal daylight conditions, these patients are extremely handicapped by glare because of a lack of rod inhibition by the abnormal or deficient cones. Light-absorbing glasses (absorption > 90%) can ameliorate this visual impairment to a certain extent but are sometimes not accepted by the patient since they are felt to disfigure the face. Especially during the first few years of school, this can lead to psychological problems. A special contact lens (Hydroflex, Wöhlk Company, Kiel) with a centrally tinted area (absorption 80%) that is slightly greater in diameter than the pupil under daylight conditions can correct ametropia and reduce light exposure and dazzle in a cosmetically much better way. Our first experience with this kind of visual aid in a 9-year-old girl suffering from incomplete achromatopsia is presented.