Can you eventually go color blind?

Just try this out!

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8833/coloreye.h...

And talk to an optician about this!

I am actually Red/Green color blind too(its extremely rare for a woman to be color blind but I am). In general someone who is color blind has developed skills that help them differentiate the colors in everyday life. It does not normally effect your ability to be a police officer, as long as you have developed some method to distinguish the colors. What most people don't understand is that we may not see specific colors in the same manner everyone else does, but we can develop methods to differentiate the colors in our daily lives, we don't even really realize it, its when we are asked to distinguish in no context red or green that we have issues. So if you placed two identical pieces of paper in front of me and one is red and the other is green I wouldn't be able to distinguish, but that does not traditionally occur in everyday life so it should not effect your ability to do the job, so go for it! Edit: I actually looked up the specific visual requirements for LEO in Massachusetts, and it does not explicitly rule out candidates who are color blind, it might be different in other states. The Massachusetts requirements are: (b) Eyes And Vision The medical evaluation shall minimally include visual acuity (Snellen) and peripheral vision testing using a Titmus or Optec Vision Screener or other similar standardized testing device. Contact lenses are not permitted to meet the uncorrected standard. X- chrom contact lens use is not permitted to meet the color standard. When the candidate is being tested, he/she must present without wearing contact lenses for at least 24 hours, so that uncorrected vision can be accurately tested. 1. Category A medical conditions shall include: a. uncorrected vision worse than 20/100 in either eye b. corrected vision worse than 20/20 in the better eye UNLESS – the vision in the good eye alone is at least 20/25 AND the vision with both eyes together is 20/20 or better. c. peripheral vision of less than 70 degrees temporally and 45 degrees nasally in either eye AND/OR any history of conditions limiting field of vision will necessitate additional assessment by an eye care 10/2007 28 professional who will use a Goldmann-type perimeter to determine if the binocular visual field is 140 degrees (at least 70 degrees temporally in each eye) with a III4e isopter. d. Testing by Ishihara or Richmond pseudo-isochromatic plates is required and if the candidate fails, testing by Farnsworth D-15 is required. Two or more major errors on the Farnsworth is a Category A condition. So it comes down to whether or not you've developed a method to deal with your color blindness that would pass the exam, many people do.

Yes, it is possible, it's called 'cone dystrophy.' However, as you're not complaining of photophobia, I don't think that's horribly likely. Regardless, any significant changes in your colour vision or overall vision is something to be concerned about, and you should visit an eye doctor as soon as is possible.