Taking care of your eyes may not be at the top of your priority list. However, foresight will do you much better than hindsight. “Be preventative,” recommends Dr. Finch of the Tumwater Eye Center. Your eyes are precious. The Center uses state-of-the-art digital and infra-red retinal imagining for comprehensive care, disease diagnosis and deals with all concerns about your eyes.
“We focus on primary care,” says Dr. Finch, which includes exams for adults and children and being fitted with glasses as needed. He is also enthusiastic about his profession. “I really like the disease aspect,” he adds and helps people with solutions for their dry eyes, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.
We might think eye care is related only to those of older ages. To the contrary, Dr. Finch recommends that children come in by the time they are five years old and earlier if there are issues such as a lazy eye. “We want to see your child before first grade,” says Dr. Finch. That is so any issues can be diagnosed, treated as necessary, and resolved, when possible, by the time they are eight. For children in the age range from eight to twelve, the Tumwater Eye Center is using dual treatments for children with myopia and having excellent results. “We like working with kids,” says Dr. Finch.
Dry eyes are increasingly common with all the time spent on computer and phone screens. “I wish more people knew about it,” says Dr. Finch. It happens slowly and becomes chronic so that people don’t realize their levels of discomfort. Eyes become fatigued and strained which can lead to headaches. There are prescription glasses specific to computer use. The Tumwater Eye Center now routinely does a LipiScan to check on the health of the oil glands under the eyelids. Various treatments are available. People use OTC (over-the-counter) drops, which give some relief but only mask the problem.
Remember that even in cloudy Olympia, sunglasses are important to protect your eyes from UV light. Sunscreen is not always applied near the eyes, so be aware of protecting the delicate skin around the eyes too.
Contact the helpful team at Tumwater Eye Clinic to make appointments for you and your family. Telemedicine options may be available. It makes sense to value your vision.
Tumwater Eye Center
6510 Capitol Way Blvd SE, Tumwater
tumwatereye.com
BY MARY ELLEN PSALTIS