i Ask a Health Professional Each week health professionals give their educated opinions on relat- able health questions. We believe that knowledge is power! Andrew Congdon O.D Doctor of Optometry o:o (715) 732-2101 INSIGHT VISION CENTER 3003 Cleveland Avenue Marinette, WI Question: AAHP What makes eyes the color they are? What is eye color and howisit determined? There are many scattering that makes the sky blue. This phenomenon is very similar to Rayleigh factors that go into the color Another influencer of eye color is what of your eyes, There are a loton of light is hitting the eyes General, ths s gs people say about eyecase f you have ighter eyes. If you have blue color, how much of it is true? eyes, and you wear a blue shirt, your eyes will First, you need to understand what eye color naturally seem bluer in color Sunlight will bring s. The colored part of your eye is a combination out different colors of the eye versus indoor of two muscles making up the iris lt has one lighting. Sometimes people will report that their to make the eyes seem to change color depending on their muscle that acts as a sphincter black part (pupil) sm open the pupil to dilate your eyes This muscle is naturally pink in color which brings us to our first mood. Mood is not an influencer of eye color of your pupils can change with your other muscle color People with a condition called Albinism mood If your pupil diates, then the iris muscle a colored pigment called melanin $pushed together concentrating the amount of l have pink eyes. Melanin is created by Pgment, this can darken your iris some. When are deficient and will have pink eyes, Melanin is created by you are in bright light, your pupil gets smaller cells all though your body, most which spreads out the pigment in the eye and it notably in your skin and eyes. The more melanin you have, the darker your skin and eye color. f you have a light amount of melanin, then your There s a wide variety of eye color in eyes are blue, the next color is green, andfinally European descendants, but with much of the brown. All the other colors, lke hazel, are colors world the dominant color is brown. Brown is the that run between bue, green, and brown. The main factor in that determines your eye color is your genetics. There are at least eight hat determine your eye can ighten your eyes most common eye color worldwicle at around 7996 The rarest eye color is Green at around Green eyes are most common in people with Northern Europe descent Also, color, which explains how there can be such a differencegreen s usually listed as the most attractive between people. The different genes generally eye color when surveyed Your eyes do tend control how much melanin and other pigments to darken as you get older since melanocytes are produced in the iris. The more pigment that will continue to make melanin. Some eyes s present, the darker the eye color is from blue lighten with time if the pigment starts to fall off to brown, Blue eyes have very little pigment in the iris, which can cause Pigmentary depersion the iris and pigment absorbs ight. Without this syndrome and glaucoma. For the most part, the absorption, a natural scattering of light happens color you have now, is the color you wil always called Tyndall scattering creating blue colors. have. i Ask a Health Professional Each week health professionals give their educated opinions on relat- able health questions. We believe that knowledge is power! Andrew Congdon O.D Doctor of Optometry o:o (715) 732-2101 INSIGHT VISION CENTER 3003 Cleveland Avenue Marinette, WI Question: AAHP What makes eyes the color they are? What is eye color and howisit determined? There are many scattering that makes the sky blue. This phenomenon is very similar to Rayleigh factors that go into the color Another influencer of eye color is what of your eyes, There are a loton of light is hitting the eyes General, ths s gs people say about eyecase f you have ighter eyes. If you have blue color, how much of it is true? eyes, and you wear a blue shirt, your eyes will First, you need to understand what eye color naturally seem bluer in color Sunlight will bring s. The colored part of your eye is a combination out different colors of the eye versus indoor of two muscles making up the iris lt has one lighting. Sometimes people will report that their to make the eyes seem to change color depending on their muscle that acts as a sphincter black part (pupil) sm open the pupil to dilate your eyes This muscle is naturally pink in color which brings us to our first mood. Mood is not an influencer of eye color of your pupils can change with your other muscle color People with a condition called Albinism mood If your pupil diates, then the iris muscle a colored pigment called melanin $pushed together concentrating the amount of l have pink eyes. Melanin is created by Pgment, this can darken your iris some. When are deficient and will have pink eyes, Melanin is created by you are in bright light, your pupil gets smaller cells all though your body, most which spreads out the pigment in the eye and it notably in your skin and eyes. The more melanin you have, the darker your skin and eye color. f you have a light amount of melanin, then your There s a wide variety of eye color in eyes are blue, the next color is green, andfinally European descendants, but with much of the brown. All the other colors, lke hazel, are colors world the dominant color is brown. Brown is the that run between bue, green, and brown. The main factor in that determines your eye color is your genetics. There are at least eight hat determine your eye can ighten your eyes most common eye color worldwicle at around 7996 The rarest eye color is Green at around Green eyes are most common in people with Northern Europe descent Also, color, which explains how there can be such a differencegreen s usually listed as the most attractive between people. The different genes generally eye color when surveyed Your eyes do tend control how much melanin and other pigments to darken as you get older since melanocytes are produced in the iris. The more pigment that will continue to make melanin. Some eyes s present, the darker the eye color is from blue lighten with time if the pigment starts to fall off to brown, Blue eyes have very little pigment in the iris, which can cause Pigmentary depersion the iris and pigment absorbs ight. Without this syndrome and glaucoma. For the most part, the absorption, a natural scattering of light happens color you have now, is the color you wil always called Tyndall scattering creating blue colors. have.