Every eye color is unique and so are the ways that the color reacts to the world around you. It may not be something you think about too often, but different eye colors mean different things for your eyes. Here are three fun facts about the color of your eyes!
- The world’s most common eye color is brown, with over 55% of the world’s population having brown eyes. People with brown eyes will be happy to know that researchers have found the higher melanin content in your brown eyes is associated with a number of health benefits. For example, people with brown eyes appear less likely to develop age-related macular degeneration than people with light-colored eyes.
- People with blue eyes share a common ancestor with every other person with blue eyes in the world. Scientists have found a genetic mutation that took place 6,000-10,000 years ago that caused the color of all people with blue eyes on the planet. This mutation shuts off the body’s ability to produce brown eyes. This inherited switch is in the exact same spot in everyone’s DNA, which is what leads scientists to conclude that blue eyed people are all linked to one shared ancestor.
- Heterochromia is when a person has two different colored eyes. This is something that can also be seen in animals, commonly cats and dogs. There are three different types of heterochromia. Complete heterochromia is where one eye is completely different from the other eye color. Partial heterochromia is when only part of one eye has a different color than the rest of the same eye. This can occur in one or both eyes. Central heterochromia is when the color at the boarder of the pupil is a different color compared to the rest of the eye’s color.
No matter what your eye color is, make sure to take care of your eyes and keep them healthy. Continue going to annual checkups and contact your eye doctor if anything seems off about your eyes. Book an appointment with your Valley Eyecare Center eye doctor. Call us at 602-955-2700 or schedule online today.
