Your eyesight is a precious gift, and regular annual eye exams can give you the peace of mind that all is well with your eyes even though you may not be experiencing any problems. A thorough eye exam by Dr. Ryan Piche of Coastal Plains Eye Care is now available in nearby Claxton, and his patients are coming from several counties surrounding Evans, including Tattnall.

Dr. Piche was already well known in Tattnall County since he was their optometrist at Georgia Eye Institute. He is appreciated for his patience and the time he takes with each patient, explaining any issues that have arisen since the last visit.

"If you are experiencing headaches, and especially if you begin to notice a blurriness in your vision, contact Dr. Piche immediately.  You may have significant pressure on your optic nerve that is causing these headaches and blurriness.  Untreated eye issues can lead to reduced vision or even blindness.

"We take our eyesight for granted so many times because we fail to grasp the difference in our lives if we were to become blind," said Piche.

Although many people have regular annual physical checkups and teeth cleaning, they neglect regular annual eye checkups. When our vision begins to worsen, it is usually gradually so we tend not to notice the changes taking place in our eyes.

Also, it is recommended that you place the palm of your hand over each eye, one at a time, so that you can see the vision in each eye. Since our eyes "compensate" for each other, when you have a vision problem, you may not notice a blurriness or loss of vision as quickly as you should.

Also, as we age, certain diseases may be slowly eroding our eyesight, such as glaucoma and macular degeneration.

"Glaucoma can be treated with eye drops, and with regular checking of your eye pressure and evaluation of the optic nerves, this disease can be detected," said Dr. Piche.

Macular degeneration, another disease also affiliated with aging, is a disease of the retina. A vitamin supplement is recommended to slow down the progression. Macular degeneration has different presentations but can usually start in the 60s.

Although Dr. Piche does not perform cataract surgery, an eye exam can detect cataracts. Surgery to remove these cataracts can make a big difference in your sight.

"Cataracts develop slowly, and our brain seems to adapt to this lessening of vision." said Piche, and, unfortunately, we miss out on seeing clearly.

    Also, if you have diabetes, it is vital to have regular monitoring of your retina.

"Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes caused by damage to the small blood vessels of the retina, which can cause vision loss and potentially blindness.  Recent studies have shown that almost one-third of adults over age 40 with diabetes have diabetic retinopathy. Early detection of damage to the retina from diabetes is important and can be accomplished with a comprehensive exam," said Dr. Piche.

Many times, when we notice a health issue, we delay having it treated, hoping it is temporary and will heal on its own.  This likely will not happen when your vision is affected; the issue slowly worsens or can worsen suddenly, leading to significant vision loss or even blindness.

Those who have regular eye exams can share that their eye problems have usually been minor because of their regular eye exams.

Coastal Plains Eye Care can provide you with eyeglasses, with a selection of frames in their office, or maybe you are ready for contacts. Options are soft contact lenses, rigid gas permeable lenses, multifocal/monovision contact lenses, or scleral lenses.

Dr. Piche is from Marion, Iowa, and Melinda, his wife, is from Savannah. Melinda is also an optometrist, and the two met while they were attending Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee.

Their passion for quality eye care has transcended from the traditional office setting to humanitarian trips in Central and South America.

"We are truly fortunate here in America to have access to quality eye care, and we often fail to realize how rare this is in other countries," said Piche.

Both Ryan and Melinda have made several trips to underserved countries to provide eye care, and these have included Belize, Mexico, and Columbia.  While there, the team of doctors treated 800 to 1000 patients in the week they were in each country.  These trips were coordinated through Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH), and the Lions Clubs were involved in these excursions also, both in supplying glasses and their participation.

Ryan and Melinda live in Long County with their two spoiled cats, Loki and Freya.  They both enjoy visiting Disney World, and, in the last year, they added a Disney Cruise.

"I am taking new patients and look forward to serving your complete eye care needs," said Dr. Piche.

For more information or to make an appointment with Dr. Ryan Piche at Coastal Plains Eye Care at 101 Daniel Street in Claxton, call 912-732-1800 or visit their website at www.coastalplainseye.com.