Albinism refers to a group of inherited conditions. People with albinism have little or no pigment in the eyes, skin and hair. Besides looking different, which may cause social problems, albinos also have various impairments. In the most severe form of albinism (called oculocutaneous albinism), those affected appear to have hair, skin, and iris color that are white or pink as well as vision defects. This article mainly concentrates on the eye problems resulting from albinism. The eyes need melanin pigment to develop normal vision. Because of that people with albinism have impaired vision. The skin also needs pigment for protection from sun damage so albinos sunburn themselves very easily and have increased risk of getting skin cancer. Less common types of albinism can also involve other problems.
Albinism often results extreme farsightedness or nearsightedness and astigmatism. Sight can be improved with glasses, however, normal or near normal vision is unusual even when glasses are worn.
Other common eye impairments include nystagmus and strabismus. Nystagmus is an involuntary movement of the eyes back and forth. One way how some people cope with this problem...