Information on Heterochromia iridium (and some iridis) My research paper.

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HETEROCHROMIA IRIDIUM

By: Raychel

WHAT I KNOW AND WHY I CHOSE THIS TOPIC

Heterochromia iridium is a very rare disorder in which a

person has two different eye colors. It can happen at birth or from

an injury. It can even happen from some medications. Sometimes,

heterochromia can be a symptom of other diseases. Some people who

have it cover one of their eyes up with a colored contact, while

others like it and do not cover it up. There are even some famous

people with the disorder (examples: Bowie who was injured

during a fist fight or Kate Bosworth who was born with the

disorder).

I chose this topic because it is something that many people

do not know about. I was also interested in the topic and wanted to

know more about it. One last reason I chose this topic was just to

see how rare it is.

HISTORY OF HETEROCHROMIA

One of the very first reported cases of heterochromia dates

back to 384 B.C. The person was a very famous teacher. His name was

Aristotle. Aristotle lived from 384-322 B.C. and is known by

millions as a very important teacher.

Ironically enough, one of Aristotle's own students had

heterochromia. Who was it? The son of King of Macedonia,

the Great. the Great was King of Macedonia after

his father's rule. was king from 336 until his death in

323 B.C.

One more historic case of heterochromia goes back to 430

A.D. It affected Roman emperor Anastasios. Anastasios got his

nickname " Dicorus " (definition: two pupils) for his two colored

eyes. Anastasios' eyes were black and blue. Anastasios lived from

430-518 A.D.

FAMOUS PEOPLE

As stated before, there are famous people with

heterochromia. Many of them, in fact: Bowie (singer), Kiefer

Sutherland (actor), Walken (actor), Kate Bosworth

(actress), Mila Kunis (actress), the Great (former king),

Aristotle (teacher), Anastasios (former emperor), and

Flatley (dancer).

During an interview, Kate Bosworth was asked if people

notice the disorder unexpectedly. Her reply was, " Yeah, it usually

comes up like that, I think. Suddenly people will say `one's brown,

one's blue!' You're born with sort of a deformity, if you will, and

you just become used to it. " (Carroll 4)

FACTS

" Heterochromia is the presence of different colored eyes in

the same person. " ( 1) Ever since there has been the presence

of different colored eyes, there has been the presence of different

eye color combinations. The most common color combination is having

one blue eye and one brown eye. Although the color combination is

common, the disorder itself is not. " Heterochromia is a rare

condition occurring in about 1% of the population. " (O'Neill 15)

This means that about only 2.2 million people in the United States

have the disorder.

In animals, the disorder is much more common. In fact, about

one in every four thousand cats has the disorder. It affects mainly

mixed-bred animals. The animals that are usually found with it are

cats, Dalmatians, Australian sheep dogs, and even horses. Usually,

the animal is born with the defect, but occasionally, the animal

develops it over time.

In humans, there are many causes of the disorder. Things

like: pigment dispersion syndrome, Horner's syndrome, Waardenburg's

syndrome, eye injuries, hemorrhaging of the eye, eye inflammation,

eye tumors, glaucoma, genetic defects, and sometimes, it is just a

trait that is passed on from generation to generation.

Heterochromia iridium is the plural for heterochromia

iridis. Heterochromia iridis happens less often than heterochromia

iridium. Heterochromia iridis just means that a person (or animal)

has one eye that is two different colors. Sometimes a person with

heterochromia iridis has exactly half of their eye one color, and

the other half another color.

Most of the time, heterochromia does not impair vision or

lead to a disease. If it does, the person with it must go under many

extensive exams to detect what caused the different colored eyes.

INTERVIEWS

I had five interviews with people who had heterochromia

iridium and iridis. Their names are Jhanna, Jovana, Kris, ,

and .

Jhanna said that she was born with the disorder. She said it

is not associated with other diseases or medications. She likes the

attention she gets from it, and she thinks it is " cool. " But she is

still self-conscious about it. Jhanna has one green eye and one

blue eye.

Jovana was born with heterochromia iridis. She did not

realize she had it until she was 14. She said she loves the

disorder, but wishes that it was more obvious. She also said, " If I

cry, or if I hang upside down, then it's REALLY noticeable. " (9)

Jovana's eyes are one green and one is exactly half green and half

hazel.

has heterochromia iridis also. But she was not born

with it. She does not know how she developed it. She discovered it

at age 12, and she has loved it ever since. Her favorite thing about

it is the cool reactions she gets from people. has one green

eye and one eye that is exactly half green and half blue.

Kris was born with heterochromia iridium. She is not self-

conscious about the disease at all. She is a teacher and her

students love it. Kris has one blue eye and one brown eye.

was born with heterochromia iridium. She inherited it

from her grandmother. likes having the disorder because it

makes her unique from other people. Her favorite thing about it is

being able to have a family member with it. She especially hates

when people have ignorant or annoying reactions to it, like asking

if she's lost a contact or saying they thought only dogs had it.

Another thing she likes about it is when she sees a celebrity with

it, it makes her feel " cool. " She is not self-conscious about it and

she would not trade her eyes for normal ones. 's left eye is

green and her right eye is brown.

IMPACT ON SOCIETY

Since it affects very few people and it is not an extremely

visible disorder, the impact on society is not very big. To see the

disorder, you would have to be very close to the person's face.

People who have seen the disorder sometime think that it is weird.

Others think it is cool. Some people even want the disorder because

they like it so much.

IMPACT ON INDIVIDUAL

The impact on the individual also depends on the individual.

Since it can be a part of a disease, the people who have it as a

part of a disease might see it as a constant reminder of their

disease. Others might feel self-conscious about it because they are

different from their peers. Other people with it feel special

because they are one of the very few who have the disorder. How a

person feels about their eye color depends mainly on the cause of

why the person has it.