General Practitioners

• Primary Care
  There are over 300 commonly prescribed medications with side effects that may impact cataract progression. Since your primary care physician may not have access to your eye doctor’s medical records, be sure to ask your doctor if your current medications will affect your cataracts. If you must stay on the medication, it’s even more important to avoid sunlight during peak hours and to wear sunglasses.

Ophthalmologists

• Glaucoma
  Dr. Alvarado joined the Eye Care Center team in 2018. She graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College and received her Doctor of Optometry from Pacific University College of Optometry. After graduation from optometry school in 2016, she completed an optometric residency at Minnesota Eye Consultants, P.A. in Minneapolis where she received further training in cornea, refractive surgery, glaucoma, and surgical co-management.
• Ophthalmology
  According to the recommendations of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, a child should have initial screening between 6 and 12 months of age. After that, routine eye health and vision screenings throughout childhood should be performed in order to help detect any abnormalities as their eyes develop. Then, unless otherwise recommended, every two years thereafter until the age of 18.
• Macular Degeneration
  Macular degeneration, commonly referred to as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is the single largest cause of sight loss in the developed world and affects more than 10 million Americans. It usually affects people over the age of 60, but has been known to affect those who are younger. It is a painless condition that usually affects both eyes with the loss being experienced in the central vision. It does not affect the peripheral vision, meaning that it does not cause total blindness.
• Laser Eye Surgery
  Low vision can make it hard to perform daily activities. This vision problem cannot be corrected using lenses or eye surgery. It is not blindness or complete vision loss, as the individual retains some sight.
• Cataracts
  Clinically she has a special interest in treating dry eye, contact lenses, including multifocal contact lenses, cataract and refractive surgery management, and myopia control. She is also a member of the Minnesota Optometric Association and the American Optometric Association.
• Cataract Surgery
  If you’ve been diagnosed with cataracts, you may wonder if cataract surgery is right around the corner. Not to worry. There are many preventive steps you can take to slow the progression of cataracts and preserve your vision. That doesn’t mean you won’t eventually need surgery, but you can at least delay the need for quite a while.
• Eye Exam
  Our optometry team at Eye Care Center can diagnose astigmatism through a comprehensive eye exam. Using a device called a phoropter, we can make a variety of adjustments to see which ones bring your vision into proper focus. We can then write a prescription containing both the sphere (your degree of another refractive error, if applicable), your cylinder (the degree of astigmatism correction), and the axis (the degree/angle of the irregularity on a 180-degree scale).

Endocrinologist

• Diabetes Care
• Diabetic Retinopathy
  Diabetic retinopathy is a condition associated with diabetes. High levels of blood sugar may damage tiny blood vessels in your eye. New vessels may form to replace the damaged vessels. The new vessels can burst, resulting in blurred vision or even blindness.

Allergists

• Allergies