March is Workplace Eye Health and Safety Awareness Month, and Eyeglass World together with The LASIK Vision Institute offers consumers and employers information and tips for reducing the number of eye-related injuries in the workplace.

People think to protect their heads with helmets or hardhats, and their clothes with smocks and aprons, but a surprisingly high percentage of people don't think to put on the proper protective eyewear in hazardous work conditions. This has resulted in an estimated 70,000 on-the-job eye-related injuries every year costing American business upwards of $450 billion annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS also reports the main causes of eye injuries in the workplace for most companies can be tied to the following six culprits: Flying objects are the leading cause of eye injuries in American workplaces.

Chronic dry eye syndrome after LASIK

Scientists at Schepens Eye Research Institute have found that people with a certain low level of tear production are more likely to develop chronic dry eye syndrome after LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis), laser refractive surgery to correct near- and far-sightedness than those with more plentiful tears.

Their research, published in the January issue of Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Science, may offer reliable prescreening criteria for ophthalmologists and patients.

"These findings should help ophthalmologists determine if pretreatment is necessary before surgery or if surgery is appropriate at all for an individual," says Dr. Darlene Dartt, director of the Military Vision Research Program at Schepens Eye Research Institute and the principal investigator of the study.

Singer Emilio Navaira Shows Signs of Progress

Tejano music star Emilio Navaira is showing signs of improvement, including opening his eyes and moving his limbs, days after being severely injured when his tour bus crashed, his neurosurgeon said Thursday. Navaira, who had been in a coma since the accident, is slowly regaining consciousness. He moved his arms and legs Wednesday evening, said Dr. Alex Valadka, with Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center. "The fact he has made so much progress already is a very encouraging sign," Valadka said. "But whether that trend will continue is impossible to say. Hopefully he will be getting better and better." While Navaira has opened his eyes, doctors can't tell how aware the singer is of those around him, Valadka said. Navaira is still using a breathing tube and can't speak. Doctors cautioned that Navaira remains in critical condition. "It's still impossible to predict how well he will recover and how long it will take," said Valadka, who is director of neurotrauma services at the hospital's Mischer Neuroscience Institute. Recovery from the type of neurological injuries Navaira has suffered often takes months or years, he said. Navaira, a father of five, is known to his fans simply as Emilio. The singer, 45, was behind the wheel of his tour bus early Sunday morning when it slammed into a collection of freeway barrels that mark the interchange of Interstate 610 and U.S.Highway 59 in Bellaire, a southwest Houston enclave. He was thrown through the windshield and suffered severe injuries.

STAAR Surgical's Visian ICL Procedure Performed Live on NBC's Today show

MONROVIA, Calif. (Map) - MONROVIA, Calif., March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- STAAR Surgical Company (Nasdaq: STAA), a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of minimally invasive ophthalmic products, congratulates Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler on his live surgical procedure on NBC's Today Show this morning correcting NBCSports.com columnist Alan Abrahamson's vision with STAAR's Visian ICL lenses.

The Visian ICL is the only foldable, minimally invasive lens approved in the U.S. for the correction of myopia, or nearsightedness, in adults. It can be especially useful in patients such as Abrahamson, who had a high prescription requirement to correct his nearsighted vision. The Visian ICL is approved for myopic patients as low as -3.0 diopters and delivers exceptional clarity and quality of vision.

ESCONDIDO: Virtual tours available of new Escondido hospital

ESCONDIDO ---- People wondering how it will look inside the corridors, operating rooms and ambulance bays of a new hospital under construction in western Escondido can use an online virtual tour to get an early peek.Palomar Pomerado Health broke ground last fall on Palomar Medical Center West. Until it opens in late 2011, curious area residents can explore a simulated version of the medical center created by the public hospital district and Cisco Systems Inc.Built in a virtual, three-dimensional world known as "Second Life" on the World Wide Web, the simulation is already being heavily used by health-care industry insiders who want to see how futuristic technology is being incorporated into the new medical center.Members of the public can take the virtual tour if they download the necessary software and go through a quick and free registration process with Second Life.The virtual tour can be found virtualpalomarwest.org.