About+Albinism

Albinism is a genetic disorder that causes its host to lack melanin in their skin and hair. Because of this, albino animals and people cannot stand too much sunlight, or they will get skin cancer. They sunburn very easily. The rarest of all types of albinism is albinism in insects. Those with albinism might also have crossed eyes, be sensitive to light, have fast eye movements, and problems with vision.

There are two types of albinism. Type one is caused by the inability to produce melanin, and type two is a defect in the "P" gene. Those who have type two have a very small amount of color at birth. The most severe type of albinism is called oculocutaneous albinism. Those who have this have completely white or very light pink eyes and skin. There are also other varieties that can only make a certain patches of skin lacking pigment. Sometimes doctors give albino patients glasses, because of the eye problems associated with albinism. The also perform surgery on the eye muscles, if the patient has rapid eye movements.

Albinism usually does not make someone's life shorter or longer, usually; however, there is a certain type of albinism that causes lung and bowel problems, which may shorten the lifespan of an albino.

Albinism is a recessive trait, that only affects 2 in every 34,000 people in the United States of America.

Most children who have albinism have normal parents. A stereotype is that albinos have red eyes; this isn't always true, as they can have normal looking eyes, but always have vision problems.

The OCA genes (genes having to do with eye color) are autosomes, which are chromosomes controlling body characteristics.