Yellow eye color is inherent in animals (for example, cats, wolves, tigers, lynxes), but it also happens in humans. This is a rare occurrence and occurs more often in photographs than in real life. To understand this phenomenon, you need to understand what affects the formation of human eye color.
Record content:
- 1 What determines the color of the iris
- 2 Causes of yellow color
- 3 How common is it?
- 4 Does eye color affect their health?
- 5 Can color change
- 6 Interesting facts related to the color of human eyes
- 7 Video about rare eye colors
What determines the color of the iris
Human eye color (including wolf yellow, a photo of which is presented in the article) formed under the influence of several factors:
- The number and characteristics of the distribution of melanin in the iris of the eyes. Melanin is a protective pigment that also forms the color of the skin and hair. The more it is in the body, the darker the eye color will be. This substance absorbs light, protecting the eyes from excessive radiation.
- The density of the fibers in the iris.
- Genetic (hereditary) factor.
It is also believed that some of the shades of the eyes may be found in members of a particular race. Brief information about this is presented in the table below.
| Eye color | Characteristic |
| Blue eyes | They are a distinctive feature of the appearance of the inhabitants of European countries. The largest number of blue-eyed people is found in Finland - about 89%. |
| Green eyes | Found among the indigenous population of Central and Southern Europe (Russia, Spain, Ireland), as well as Brazil and Pakistan. This color is considered the rarest - only 2% of the world's population has it. |
| Grey eyes | Inherent in people from North and West Africa, as well as the Far East. |
| Brown eyes | They are the most common color (inherent in 79% of the world's population). It is found on all continents of the planet, but more often it is possessed by inhabitants of Africa, Asia, South America. It is worth noting that 95% of Japanese and native Chinese people have brown eyes. |
Causes of yellow color
Yellow wolf eyes in humans, photos and descriptions of which indicate a small content of melanin, are also formed under the influence of a special substance lipochrome. This pigment is found in the vessels of the iris. It has a very pale shade, which, combined with a small amount and uneven distribution of melanin, forms a yellow tint to the eyes.
How common is it?
Wolf eyes of yellow color in humans (photographs of real people are rare) are inherent in only 5% of the total population of the planet. This shade is considered strange, sometimes frightening, since when light is scattered, the eyes can change color to brown, green and even blue. Sometimes, with a special refraction of light, the iris can acquire several colors at once.
Does eye color affect their health?
There are many studies in the world, the purpose of which is to establish the connection between the color of a person's eyes and his physical health.
Some of them have proven that:
- Owners of light eyes (in particular, blue ones) have a high pain threshold in comparison with dark-eyed people.
- Light-eyed people have a light-colored iris, which increases the risk of UV damage to their eyes compared to dark-eyed people.
- Brown-eyed people have faster reactions, so they can be more successful than light-eyed people in various sports.
- Those with bright eyes are more cold-blooded, so they often make deliberate and balanced decisions.
- Dark-eyed people, in comparison with light-eyed people, get drunk faster, but representatives of a light shade of eyes still suffer more from the consequences of drinking and the development of alcoholism. This is due to the fact that the level of melanin in the eyes does not correspond to the level of this substance in the brain, therefore, in order to achieve a state of intoxication, light-eyed people need to drink more alcohol.
- People with darker eyes have a higher chance of getting cataracts in older age.
- Light-eyed people are able to quickly recover from depression and get rid of other disorders of the nervous system in comparison with people with dark eyes.
- Brown-eyed people, according to research by psychologists, are more credible in comparison with blue-eyed people.
Sometimes not only the pupil, but also the eyeball can have an unusual color. So, for owners of dark brown eyes with a predominantly dark skin tone, the eyeball can be gray or yellow. The appearance of yellowness may indicate liver disease, in particular, hepatitis. Most often, it can be a direct manifestation of hepatitis A.
As a result of the disease, an increased content of bilirubin is observed in the body. In the process of the disintegration of this substance, yellow spots appear on the whites of the eyes (in normal health they have a milky white tint). As a result, a dangerous substance is released, which has a negative effect on the activity of the nervous system.
Other causes of yellowing of the eyeballs can be:
- damage to liver cells by parasites;
- the development of malignant inflammatory processes of the eyes (for example, conjunctivitis);
- oncology of the pancreas or gallbladder;
- the development of anemia;
- jaundice (most often in newborns);
- hereditary liver diseases (for example, Gilbert's disease);
- thickening of the tissues of the eye (pinguecula);
- the formation of growths in the eyes (often found in the elderly).
- taking certain medications;
- malaria;
- as a result of a blood transfusion that is not suitable for a person;
- poisoning with poisons and other toxic substances.
Such changes can occur in people with any shade of eyes. Therefore, at the first sign of a change in the color of the whites of the eyes, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Can color change
Wolf eyes are yellow in humans (photographs taken at different times help to see changes in hue), as well as other shades may change with age in such cases:
- In children. Most newborn babies are light green or blue-gray. Closer to 6 months, the shade of the eyes changes due to the accumulation of melanin - the iris becomes darker. By the age of one year, the child's eyes acquire a color that was genetically laid down. But the final shade of the iris is formed closer to 5-10 g.
- In old age. In the iris, the process of depigmentation takes place and the color of the eyes becomes dull, and sometimes it can acquire a lighter shade.
- In adulthood, under the influence of certain factors.
In the latter case, the change in eye color is affected by:
- Physiological factors.
- External factors. These include the situation where the person is, weather conditions, change in temperature indicators, change in illumination, color of clothing. Light eyes have the greatest ability to change shade.
Physiological causes of eye color change are also divided into 2 groups, a description of which is presented in the table below:
| Natural factors | Pathological factors |
| Tears. With tearing, the iris of the eyes acquires a more saturated shade. As a result of abundant hydration, the white of the eye becomes lighter, shading the color of the eyeball - the eyes acquire a darker shade. | Lymphoma is a disease that affects the inside of the eye. The iris of the eye becomes dull, visual acuity decreases. |
| Emotions. With strong experiences and other feelings, a person's pupil involuntarily expands or narrows, as a result of which a change in eye color occurs. This manifestation, according to scientists, is directly related to the hormonal background. | Melanoma is a tumor that causes clouding of the cornea. As a result, the eyes may take on a dark brown tint. |
| Glaucocyclical crisis contributes to a sharp darkening of the iris. A person develops a fear of light, heaviness in the eyes, blurred vision, and multi-colored circles appear in front of the eyes. | |
| Fuchs syndrome. Usually one eye is affected - it becomes darker than a healthy one, the pattern on the iris is distorted, the lens becomes cloudy. | |
| Horner's syndrome is a pathology associated with damage to the nervous system. The disease is accompanied by a difference in eye color, drooping of the upper eyelid, and constriction of the pupil. |
Not always, different eye colors in one person may indicate a health problem. If heterochromia (a different color of the iris of the right and left eyes or a different shade of certain areas of one eye) is congenital, then there is no cause for concern.
This phenomenon is very rare - less than 1% of the world's population have different eye colors.
Heterochromia is caused by such factors:
- Uneven distribution of pigment (melanin) in the shell.
- Lack or excess of melanin (one eye may have more or less of this pigment in comparison with the other).
Complete heterochromia is more common (for example, the right eye has a brown tint, and the left one is blue). Less commonly, partial heterochromia may occur, in which the iris of one eye has several different colors.
The latter option, most often, becomes a consequence of hereditary diseases. To prevent the development of a number of eye diseases, with heterochromia, it is still better to consult an ophthalmologist.
Interesting facts related to the color of human eyes
An interesting scientific fact is that a person actually sees with the brain, not with the eyes. The incoming light radiation is transmitted through nerve cells to the brain, which analyzes it and gives the information received in the usual form in the form of a picture.
It should be noted that the color of the eyes does not in any way affect the quality of the "picture" from the brain. Therefore, in the presence of vision problems, mainly the violation lies in the work of the brain.
Other interesting facts about eye color are:
- Earlier (about 10 millennia ago), all the inhabitants of the planet had brown eyes. As a result of the mutation process (there was a decrease in the level of melanin), a blue tint of the eyes appeared.
- There are 16 eye shades in various combinations of blue, gray, green, yellow and black.
- One of the rarest phenomena is considered to be red eyes, which are a consequence of albinism (a hereditary disease characterized by the absence of melanin in the body). Through the transparent vessels of the iris, devoid of pigment, blood is visible, so the eyes have a red tint.
- The color and pattern of the iris of each person is individual, like a fingerprint. Therefore, it can be used to identify a person's identity.
- Brown eyes, according to ophthalmologists, are actually blue - they are simply hidden under the brown pigment. This phenomenon is also a consequence of genetic mutation.
Yellow eyes in the absence of eye diseases are an individual feature of a person, like eyes of other shades. They are extremely rare and make a person's gaze similar to a wolf's animal gaze, which is noticeable even in photographs.
Video about rare eye colors
7 rare eye colors:
