Glare and halo with refractive correction.

BACKGROUND

The aim of this investigation was to compare glare and halo with various methods of refractive correction.

METHODS

Ninety-eight eyes of healthy pre-presbyopes were analysed for the presence of glare and halo using computer-generated stimuli. Subjects were divided into three groups: emmetropes without correction, single vision plastic lens spectacle wearers (with clean and dirty lenses) or single-vision soft contact lens wearers.

RESULTS

No significant difference in glare was found among groups. Significant differences were noted in halos between emmetropes and both contact lens (p<0.001) and uncleaned spectacle groups (p<0.05) but not with cleaned spectacles. The reduction in halo size after cleaning the lenses was significant (p<0.0187).

CONCLUSIONS

Contact lens and unclean spectacle wearers both have significantly larger halos than emmetropes and those wearing cleaned spectacle lenses. Unclean spectacles may affect the accuracy of results in psychophysical and clinical testing.