Heterochromia Iridis: A Genetic Disease

By Lily Vo, Reporter

Have you ever came across some people where their eyes are completely different in color? This condition is referred to as heterochromia iridis which is where one can experience asymmetry in the pigmentation of their irises. In other words, the person can have two different eye colors.

There could be some cases of heterochromia iridis that could cause one iris to be blue and the other is brown or green. What’s interesting is that this condition can also be seen in pets as well. For example, many Huskies are seen with different colored eyes. Commonly, you would see that one eye is a light shade of brown and the other is an ice blue in a Husky.

Some causes of heterochromia could be passed on through a congenital syndrome or can be acquired in other ways. For example, it can be caused by injuries or damage to the eye and diseases.

In fact, some famous celebrities, today, carry this condition with them. For instance, lead actor Henry Cavill, who plays Superman, has segmental heterochromia where one of his eyes has part brown in them and the rest is all blue. There is also actress Mila Kunis, who recieved heterochromia iridis from an injury that made her blind in one eye. This made one of her eyes a darker brown hazel while the other is more of a blue hazel.

Although, most of the time conditions like heterochromia iridis never usually carry additional health problems or symptoms. In the end this genetic disease is quite a unique trait to have in a person.