albinism research

Instructions

( Please note that I do not have albinism, nor do I know anyone personally with it. I have done research for Sky, but I may still get things wrong. If you have albinism, strabismus, hypotropia, photophobia, or related conditions, corrections and additional information are very welcome. I want to learn and portray these conditions respectfully. ) Sky has albinism, meaning their body produces little or no melanin, the pigment that gives colour to skin, fur, and eyes. Albinism can affect vision, light sensitivity, and skin health. I will only be covering the symptoms and experiences that apply to Sky specifically. This will be divided into three sections: ocular (vision-related), skin/fur-related, and other effects. Ocular Sky has hypotropia in their right eye, meaning the eye drifts downward. This is a form of strabismus, a condition where the eyes do not align properly because the eye muscles are not working together correctly. Over time, this affects how Sky processes visual information. As a young kit, Sky experiences double vision because their brain receives two different images at once. As they grow, their brain gradually begins to ignore the image from the drifting eye in order to reduce the confusion. Because of this, their vision becomes blurrier overall, especially in the affected eye. Their depth perception and ability to focus on distant objects are also weaker than those of the other cats around them. The drifting of their eye is noticeable most of the time, although it may become more pronounced when they are tired or stressed. Sky’s vision problems affect more than just hunting. They often feel frustrated or isolated when other cats can track prey easily while they can only make out blurred shapes or movement. Because of this, Sky tends to overwork himself in order to feel useful to the Clan and to ‘prove they can still contribute.’ ( hi just a note I will most likely not be giving Sky skin cancer as I’m just not well versed enough in that to be able to represent the disease in a warrior cats community without just saying “oh he got skin cancer in his ears so they chopped them off, problem solved” as it can be much more complex than that and I wish to not misinterpret anything ) Skin related With his very pale skin, Sky will be very reluctant to go patrolling on a sunny day, as his skin will burn very easily. This can cause cancer ( mentioned above ) and sunburn. their sunburn will be light, and based on their nose which is constantly an area of pain if they have been patrolling at times of sun high. yeah sorry there was another paragraph but couldn’t stop it from flagging.