Color-blind vet sees Alexandria in full spectrum for the first time

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Rob wears his glasses on a trip with his girlfriend in Mt. Vernon. (Courtesy photo by Rob Oswald)

Alexandria, VA – “I’ve never seen a rainbow,” said Rob Oswald, a veterinary student in Grenada and Alexandria.

Oswald moved as a child, although he spends much of his time in Alexandria with his father in McClean and girlfriend in Alexandria when he can. However, he could not always see Alexandria completely.

Oswald has severe protan color blindness, a type of color blindness so severe that Oswald can only see between 2 and 3 shades of color compared to the usual 7. One-of-a-kind glasses fixed: The EnChroma color blind glasses.

Oswald recently invested in these world-changing glasses. “I was at The Italian place one day and I tried them on and could see the different shades of red in the building across the street! I never knew that red had so many shades, ”says Rob of his first encounter with accurate colors.

“Ordinary people see over a million hues and shades. Color blind people only see about ten percent of it, ”explains Kent Streeb, Director of Public Relations and Partnerships at EnChroma. “The EnChroma glasses contain special optical filters and expand the range of colors that color-blind people can see.”

Color blindness is genetic. Oswald inherited his from his maternal grandfather. He knows about his condition from around the age of eight. “I missed a lot,” says Oswald. “Everyone always says how beautiful the autumn leaves are. For me they are all red or brown, nothing really special. “

While it was certainly disappointing, missing out on these natural beauties in growing up was never really a problem for Oswald until he ventured into medicine. When I studied the slides in the laboratory, everything looked the same shade of red. Various dyes did not help, and as Oswald deepened his studies the difficulties posed by color blindness became more apparent. Then he came across an ad that offered a possible solution.

EnChroma technology was developed by Don McPherson, Ph. D. in Glass Science, Chief Science Officer, Co-Founder, and Inventor of EnChroma. Over a decade ago, McPherson discovered that his other company, which made glasses for surgeons to distinguish between certain types of tissue and to protect against lasers, also had color-enhancing effects. He began experimenting with their effects on color blind people and so EnChroma was born in 2010.

Rob wears his EnChroma sunglasses on Grenada Beach. (Courtesy photo by Rob Oswald)

Oswald discovered EnChroma in 2015, but initially hesitated, fearing disappointment that this technology would not help his severe color blindness. However, as EnChroma technology evolved, Oswald changed his mind.

“My dad just said, ‘Pull the trigger. What’s the worst that can happen? ‘”Explains Oswald. He did that in July 2021 and has been wearing glasses on his face ever since.

Currently studying veterinary medicine at the St. George University in Grenada, Oswald uses his EnChroma glasses every day in his studies and in social life. “It’s a little overwhelming every time I put them on. The first steps outside are always a breathtaking moment, ”he explains. The EnChroma glasses make colors more vivid, distinct, saturated and clear and have helped Oswald not only cope with his color blindness, but thrive anyway.

EnChroma offers different glasses for different types of color blindness. They make both indoor glasses and outdoor sunglasses. They currently only sell the outdoor sunglasses with Strong Protan color blindness technology, but they are making progress every day and everywhere.

You can find EnChroma on their website, at your local ophthalmologist or online at Amazon.

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