(HealthDay is the new name for HealthScoutNews.)
WEDNESDAY, July 23, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Black eye grease works much better than anti-glare stickers in reducing eye glare for athletes, says a Yale University study in the July issue of the The Archives of Ophthalmology.
Glare caused by sunlight or stadium lighting can impair an athlete's ability to see detail and contrast. The higher an athlete's sensitivity to contrast, the better the athlete can see an object as its speed increases.
In this study, researchers tested 46 students, aged 18 to 30, for contrast sensitivity with and without anti-glare products. The students were divided into three groups. One group used black eye grease, another group used anti-glare patches and the third group used petroleum jelly placebo.
Using natural sunlight as their light source, the researchers found there was about one level of eye sensitivity improvement when athletes used black eye grease compared to using no product. The study also found the anti-glare stickers did not significantly improve contrast sensitivity.
"These results suggest that eye black grease does in fact have anti-glare properties, whereas anti-glare stickers and petroleum jelly do not. Perhaps the mixture of wax and carbon in eye black grease is superior for reducing reflected light than is the fabric material in anti-glare stickers," the authors write.
More information
Here's where you can learn more about sports eye safety.
