Contents:
- Medical Video: 7 Things That Can Change Your Eye Color
- All you need to know about color in the eyes
- So, what causes the baby's eye color to change?
- 1. Genes factor
- 2. Melanin factor
Medical Video: 7 Things That Can Change Your Eye Color
Did you know that the baby's eye color can change? Yes, many babies, especially Caucasian babies, who are born with blue eyes, actually experience eye color changes as they age. So, what's the cause? Find out the answers in this article.
All you need to know about color in the eyes
In the anatomy of the eye, the part that determines the color of your eyes is iris. Iris is a ring-shaped membrane inside the eye that surrounds the pupil. Iris functions to regulate how much light enters the eye and adjusts to the pupil opening.
When exposed to bright light, your iris will close (or narrow) and automatically open pupils smaller to limit the amount of light that enters your eyes.
The iris color of a person will depend on how much melanin is contained in it, as well as the color of skin and hair. People who have dark eyes generally because their iris absorbs more light. While bright eye colors occur because their iris reflects more light.
So, what causes the baby's eye color to change?
According to Dr. Aron Shafer from Stanford Tech Tech Museum, actually the baby's eye color can change through playing the concept of genes and pigment production as they age. This generally occurs in 10-15 percent of Caucasians (people who usually have brighter eyes).
1. Genes factor
Genes inherited from babies from both parents play a role in determining the color of their baby's eyes at birth. In fact, experts say there are about 15 genes that are responsible for baby's eye color, but OCA2 and HERC2 are the two most dominant genes in this regard. Babies with the HERC2 gene have blue eyes that tend to remain blue, while babies with the OCA2 gene have green or brown eyes.
When a baby is born, the baby has its own genes. Unfortunately, his body hasn't reacted to all the genes in the DNA. This makes the baby's eyes change in the first few months of life.
2. Melanin factor
Another factor that determines the baby's eye color is melanin. Melanin itself is a type of protein that functions to form color on the skin, eyes, and hair. The more content of melanin in the body, the darker the color of your eyes, hair, or skin will be.
Melanin production begins when the baby's eyes see light for the first time after birth. Different eye colors for each person will depend on how much pigment is behind the iris.
Usually, babies with brown eyes have high pigmented irises, while babies with blue or green eyes have little pigments. If your baby has brown eyes, these eye colors will not turn brighter as they age.
While if your baby has blue eyes or bright colors, which on the other hand have small amounts of pigment, then his eyes allow it to change. The reason is, their eyes will continue to produce pigments so that their eyes allow them to experience darkening.
The baby's eyes may change color to darker during the first 3-6 months of his life. Sometimes this process can also take longer. But in many cases, once your baby enters his first year of life, the color of his eyes will most likely remain the same for the rest of his life. Except when one day he develops certain medical conditions that make his eye color change again.
Keep in mind that not all babies are born with blue eyes, for example Asia, African-Americans. Babies of this race will usually be born with dark eyes that will not experience color changes as they age.
