What do different colored eyes mean? What does a person have different eyes?

Eye color depends on the degree of pigmentation of the iris. Chromatophores containing melanin (coloring pigment) play a role in the formation of this indicator, but in addition, the order of their location in the anterior mesodermal layer of the iris is also important. The posterior layer contains pigment cells filled with fuscin, which are also noticeable regardless of eye color. An exception is an albino person who lacks this pigment.

What is the name of the disease when one person has eyes of different colors?

In genetics, there are only three colors from which the color of the iris is formed - blue, yellow and brown. Depending on which pigment predominates, the color of the eyes is formed. As a rule, in one person both eyes have the same color and tone, but abnormal pigmentation of the membrane located behind the cornea may occur.

A disorder characterized by abnormal pigmentation of the iris is called heterochromia. In this case, a person’s eyes differ in color due to the unequal content of pigments in the organs of vision.

Heterochromia is usually a hereditary disease that passes from generation to generation and may appear much later. About one in a hundred people have heterochromia.

Eyes of different colors: types and forms of anomaly

In most cases, heterochromia is a genetic disorder, but there are also cases of acquired disorder.

Depending on the degree of staining, several types of deviation are distinguished:

Complete heterochromia - both eyes are completely different in color. The most common type - one of them is brown and the other is blue;
Sector - the iris of one of the eyes has several different shades;
The central shell has several full color rings.

The full type is more common, and the partial type is slightly less common.

The reason for the appearance of different eye colors in a person may be hidden in other factors. In this case, the disease is divided into the following forms:

Simple - the anomaly develops with congenital weakness of the sympathetic nerve;
Complicated (Fuchs syndrome type) is a chronic pathology characterized by damage to only one of the organs of vision, accompanied by a change in the color of the membrane;
An anomaly as a result of metallosis - develops as a result of metal fragments entering the eye, which provoke siderosis (metal) or chalcosis (copper).

Why do people have different eye colors: etiology and pathogenesis of heterochromia

The disease itself does not affect human health in any way, so there is no need to be afraid of it. It does not impair vision, all colors are visible normally. That is, by its nature, this anomaly represents a unique phenomenon that manifests itself in the mutation of cells immediately after fertilization of an egg by a sperm. You need to take the causes of the disorder more seriously if it is acquired, as they can be dangerous.

It is worth noting that this phenomenon is more common among women. In men it is much less common. With heterochromia, the stroma of the iris is depleted of pigment. This happens in the case of congenital (trophic) disorders provoked by functional or organic metamorphoses in the sympathetic nervous system.

Symptomatic picture of heterochromia

The simple form of the disorder is not characterized by any noticeable changes.

But with congenital weakness of the cervical sympathetic nerves, Bernard-Horner disease occurs, which is characterized by the following symptoms:

changes in skin color;
narrowing of the palpebral fissure (ptosis);
change (decrease) in the position of the upper eyelid;
constriction of the pupil;
change in the localization of the eyeball in its orbit (mild enophthalmos);
decreased or absent sweat secretion from the affected side.

A complicated form of Fuchs cyclitis is accompanied by the following symptoms:

opacities in the vitreous body (white dots on its frame);
degenerative dystrophy (atrophy) of the iris;
progressive cortical cataract with clouding of the lens cortex;
the appearance of small whitish inclusions (precipitates).

In a disease whose cause is hidden in metallosis, excessive, pronounced pigmentation of the eye membrane occurs, which appears as a rusty-brown or green-blue tint.

How are people with different eye colors treated?

First of all, it is necessary to carry out a diagnosis. It begins with clarifying the characteristic clinical picture of the pathology. If the anomaly manifests itself only in changes in eye color, then there is no need for drug treatment or surgery.

When a person's eyes become different colors, consultation with an ophthalmologist is necessary. He must refer the patient for comprehensive laboratory tests, as well as examine the condition of the visual organs using special medical equipment.

A sick person needs local therapy, which consists of the use of steroid medications. The vitrectomy procedure is resorted to only under strict indications - in the case of severe clouding of the lens, which does not respond to conservative treatment. That is, surgical intervention is resorted to with a progressive decrease in visual acuity (Fuchs syndrome), as well as with worsening cataracts.

Treatment for metallosis (chalcosis, sildosis) requires immediate removal of the foreign object that provokes a pathological change in the iris. In the presence of an inflammatory process, a course of corticosteroids, miotics, antibacterial agents and nonspecific anti-inflammatory drugs is prescribed.

Prognosis for heterochromia

We already know what different eye colors are called and how the disease is treated in people. But many are concerned about the question: will the normal color of the iris be restored?

With a congenital (genetic) anomaly, this will never happen. In such a situation, contact lenses will help hide the anomaly if the person is very worried about this. However, with an acquired disease, which was provoked by the penetration of foreign objects into the cornea or inflammatory processes of the iris, there is a possibility of recovery by eliminating the cause that provoked heterochromia.

Each of us at least once in our lives has seen a person have different colored eyes. This attracted everyone's attention because it seemed something anomalous. What if this is some kind of disease? Why does this happen? Why do people have different eye colors? What is this phenomenon called?

It's not as complicated as you think. This phenomenon can be called heterochromia. What is heterochromia? This is a scientific term. It refers to the different color of the iris of the left or right eye, as well as the part of the iris that occurs from melanin deficiency or excess. Also, changes in pigment can affect the color of the skin or hair.

Wonder people

The percentage of such people on the planet is extremely small. Moreover, women have the most different eye colors. This played a cruel joke on them in ancient times.

It was mistakenly believed that people with different eye colors were sorcerers and witches. They were persecuted and burned at the stake. But after a while everything fell into place, as scientists studied this phenomenon.

Reasons for different eye colors

Heterochromia is a disease during which the human body suffers from insufficient or excess melanin. This is a pigment that is responsible for coloring human tissue. There are complete and partial heterochromia, and circular heterochromia is even less common. The first is characterized by different eye colors, most often blue and brown. But with the second, a partial change in the color of the iris occurs, which is not immediately noticeable. The latter has different color rings that are clearly defined.

What causes heterochromia? You can already be born with it from the very beginning. It is inherited from relatives. This feature does not always appear in every generation; breaks are possible. Sometimes very long. Then such a special child is born, and the parents cannot understand how this happened. Until someone from the family remembers that there were already relatives with different eye colors. Such an anomaly may be one of the symptoms of a completely different disease. Therefore, it is necessary to immediately examine such children by an ophthalmologist.

People have changes in the iris that are acquired throughout life. This can be caused by injuries, tumors, or the use of medications by people to treat eye diseases. It can be caused by completely different diseases. Among them: Waardenburg, Horner and Duane syndrome, lymphoma and melanoma, leukemia and brain tumor.

What are the forms of heterochromia?

The disease can occur in three forms:

Simple. It can be caused by weakness of the cervical sympathetic nerve or Horner-Waardenburg syndrome. In rare cases, it can be congenital, but the person’s vision does not suffer in any way.
Complicated. It is provoked by Fuchs syndrome and is difficult to diagnose. At the same time, the person begins to see worse. His eye lens becomes cloudy. Other eye diseases may develop.
Acquired. It is obtained for eye injuries, tumors and improper use of drugs. If iron particles get into the eye, then a person can get siderosis, and if copper particles, then chalcosis. These diseases will affect the change in eye color. It will turn a rich green-blue or bright brown.

How is the treatment carried out?

Usually, when eye color is different, there are no global changes in their functioning. Well, this is, of course, if there are no side diseases. Visual acuity does not change. Therefore, there is no point in treating such a disease. It is important to cure the concomitant diseases that led to it. Many people are concerned about the presence of a cosmetic defect; not everyone can come to terms with changing their appearance. Contact lenses can help solve this problem. They will reliably disguise such a flaw.

For serious diseases, surgery, hormonal therapy, and laser are used. The attending physician, based on the indications, will select the correct treatment.

If nature has endowed a person with different eye shades (for example, one eye is green, the other is blue, or one eye is brown, the other is green), this phenomenon is known as heterochromia.

In ancient times, different eye colors were considered something mystical, otherworldly. Now modern advances in medicine make it possible to easily explain this phenomenon.

Reasons for different eye colors

Researchers still cannot give an exact answer to the question of why heterochromia occurs.. The most common theory is that it is simply a quirk of individual development, an unusual natural phenomenon. However, the following reasons for this feature are distinguished:

Congenital or simple form of heterochromia– when a person’s eyes are of different colors, and no other disturbances of the visual organ are observed. This is a fairly rare form of anomaly. Heterochromia may not manifest itself immediately, but during the first two years of a child’s life.
Complicated heterochromia– often appears against the background of Fuchs syndrome. This pathology is characterized by damage to one eye, while heterochromia is mild or absent. The cause may also be more dangerous conditions, for example, the development of a tumor process. At the same time, the person will make other complaints;
Acquired form– discoloration occurred due to trauma, inflammation, tumor, irrational use of eye drops. A change in color can occur, for example, after a tiny particle of any metal gets into the eye. Because of this, the iris becomes greenish, blue, brown or rusty.

The most common cause of heterochromia, not associated with any diseases or injuries, is wearing colored contact lenses. The modern ophthalmological market is represented by a variety of lenses that can change not only the color of the iris, but the shape of the pupil.

Features of two-tone eyes

The incidence of heterochromia is approximately 10 cases per thousand. Its main reason is the excessively high or low content of coloring pigment. This substance is called melanin and is responsible for one or another shade of a person’s eyes.

The color of the iris consists of several pigments: yellow, blue and brown. The shade of the eyes is determined by the proportion of these pigments. An interesting fact is that each individual has his own form of heterochromia, i.e. it is impossible to meet a person with identical manifestations of the anomaly. This is not a disease, but a unique feature of a person.

There are several types of heterochromia:

Complete heterochromia– manifested by the fact that both eyes have a different shade. Most often there are people with various combinations of blue; one eye may also be brown, the other blue;
Sectoral or partial– the iris is painted in several contrasting colors. The most common combinations are gray, blue and brown. Sometimes blue eyes with white splashes are found. In most cases, this form of anomaly is caused by mechanical damage to the visual apparatus or a previous disease;
Central - the color of the iris differs in that several clearly defined multi-colored rings are visible on it.

There is no need to treat heterochromia, since the anomaly does not affect the quality of visual function in any way. Only in rare cases, different eye colors are a symptom of ophthalmological pathology.

Famous people with heterochromia

Most often there are odd-eyed people with the full type of heterochromia, but sometimes there are also people with a partial form. There are not so many famous personalities distinguished by heterochromia.

Among them are composer Tim McIlroth, actress Jane Seymour, actress Olivia Wilde, athlete Ilya Kovalchuk, rock singer David Bowie, dancer Michael Flatley, boxer Jane Pulver.

Currently, there is almost no information about famous people from Russia or the CIS countries.

Animals with different eyes

Multi-colored eyes are found not only in humans, but also in animals. It should be noted that different eye colors are most characteristic of certain breeds. Such animals include Husky dogs, Persian cats, Turkish Angora cats, Border Collies, Turkish Van cats, and Australian Shepherds.. This trend is most likely explained by the fact that purebred cats and dogs are bred artificially, as a result of which various mutations occur.

In Turkey, Angora cats with different eye colors are considered the most valuable. This is the so-called “national decoration” of the country.

Useful video

The video provides more information on the topic of heterochromia anomaly and its features.

Vision is restored up to 90%

Poor vision significantly impairs the quality of life and makes it impossible to see the world as it is. Not to mention the progression of pathologies and complete blindness.

A person with different eye colors stands out from the crowd, doesn’t he? This phenomenon looks extremely interesting and extravagant. What is it called when a person has different eyes? What is it called when a person has both eyes of different colors? Is it a disease or a specific feature? How did they fight such individuals in ancient times?

This “miracle of nature”, when one person has a completely or partially different eye color, is called heterochromia. Unfortunately, in most cases, the presence of different eye colors signals a disease progressing within the person.

Heterochromia – different eye colors: a disease or an individual trait

As mentioned earlier, in 99% of cases, multi-colored eyes signal a person’s poor health. As a rule, this feature has been known since childhood and is caused by a lack of melanin. A hormone responsible for the pigmentation of our body - hair, skin and iris. In milder cases, only the irises are affected, and partially. In neglected ones, the eye color is radically different. This is usually accompanied by a violation of pigmentation of the skin and hair.

Different-colored eyes in people can also be an acquired “effect”: in case of disruption of the nervous system, hormonal imbalance, diseases associated with disruption and partial dysfunction of the optic nerve.

Eye color changes - I'm sick

No, a change in eye color or one of them is not always associated with an increase in the disease. Changes in tone are quite possible due to changes in lighting, time of year, or simply, the maturation of the body.

Animals are more likely to have different eye colors. The reasons for the appearance are almost identical to “human” ones.

It is extremely common to notice changes in eye color in girls during menstruation. Also, in females, differences in tone can be noted when shedding tears. As soon as the lacrimal glands are activated, the eye color becomes more saturated.

What were people with different eye colors called in ancient times?

In ancient times, people with different eye colors were considered magicians and sorcerers. It was believed that only a select few could receive such a “mark” from above. Such people were wary and even feared.

Of course, no one “undertook” to fight such individuals. They avoided eye contact in every possible way and did not swear at the “multi-colored” one in his presence.

History has not recorded any mass unrest or terrible incidents associated with the presence of different eye colors. Over time, everything fell into place. Medicine flourished and research was carried out.

Now - a person with different eye colors is not a magician or wizard, but just a special person with some “interests”.

Sometimes you meet interesting people who have eyes of different colors. Usually they have one eye lighter than the other. This interesting phenomenon is called heterochromia.

This disease is rare, but it does occur. In such cases, part of the iris of the eye takes on a different color. This kind of individuality doesn't come along very often. Therefore, a person with eyes of different colors stands out from the crowd of people. This is a rather unusual phenomenon.

In ancient times, differences in the color of a person's eyes aroused genuine interest among others. They were considered sorcerers and witches. It is known that according to legend, the devil had different eyes - one blue and the other black. In this regard, people who believed in superstitions were afraid of people with different-colored eyes. In the modern world, there is still an opinion that a person with heterochromia has an evil eye. But no matter how others treat people with different-colored eyes, such people are original and have a non-standard appearance.

Eye color can change due to various factors. Iritis, inflammation of the iris, iridocyclide, glaucoma and trauma, tumors, as well as other disorders, contribute to a change in the color of the iris. Sometimes the lining of the eye can change color due to stress or hormonal disorders. Also, due to taking a number of medications, changes in the color of the iris are possible.

Thus, in the treatment of glaucoma, drugs that lower intraocular pressure are used. These medications cause the lining of the iris to darken. Often two eyes darken at once. For example, blue eye color becomes gray. In this case, heterochromia leads to a radical change in the color of the iris. This disease can be hereditary. However, such changes in the color of the iris do not affect visual acuity. The disease heterochromia has only external manifestations. No other symptoms were identified. But sometimes complications are possible - cataracts.

There are such forms of cataracts in diseases of different eyes:

pathological congenital heterochromia - paresis of the cervical sympathetic nerve;
simple form;
Fuchs disease;
complications caused by chalcosis or siderosis.

The degree of threat of heterochromia

Doctors came to the conclusion that a decrease or increase in melanin levels changes eye color.

With a trophic congenital disorder, the pigment is produced in the wrong amount, and if the body has organic or physical changes in the nervous system, then this disease is activated.
As a result of uveitis, color may also change.
With a simple form of heterochromia, changes may not be noticed.
Horner's syndrome occurs due to paresis of the cervical nerve. In this case, significant deviations occur. Fuchs disease causes clouding of the vitreous humor and destruction of the iris of the eye.
Heterochromia with sederosis (caused by iron dust) or chalcosis (when copper salt gets into the eyes) is expressed by the presence of bright pigmentation. After removing the foreign particle from the eye, the color of the iris returns to its original color.
If heterochromia is caused by congenital pathologies, the eyes remain multi-colored for life.

What should be the normal eye color?

The pattern and color of the iris is an individual characteristic. By such individualities it is easy to recognize a specific person, for example, by fingerprints. The norm is the same eye color. As we age, the iris of the eyes becomes dull and loses its shine. The color of the iris can also change with age. These changes occur with both eyes at the same time. This is how the natural aging process of the body proceeds. But when color changes are noticeable in the area of the eye, this indicates the presence of a disease. If the color of the iris changes, you should immediately visit a doctor.