Cardio vascular diseases are the number 1 killer in Switzerland.

Your best defence: early detection. If detected early, all of these things can usually be fixed with lifestyle changes like more exercise and improving your diet.

Tricky part: During those early stages, they often don’t cause any symptoms. That is why you should get tested every year or two. Sounds better than having to take medication every day and worrying about things like heart attacks, no?

Testing is especially recommended from the age of 35 if any of the following risk factors apply to you:

1. Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25 or higher
2. Lack of physical activity
3. Known history of high blood pressure or elevated blood lipids such as cholesterol and triglycerides
4. Known hormonal disorders
5. Personal history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes among parents or siblings
6. Individuals belonging to ethnic groups with a higher risk, such as African Americans, Latin Americans, indigenous American peoples, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders.

• Cholesterol to detect risk of arterial blockage which can lead to heart attacks or strokes.
• HbA1c as an early indicator for developing diabetes.
• Blood pressure since high blood pressure can lead to complications such as heart disease, stroke, and kidney problems.

With our Health Check Basic, you can check for cholesterol as well as pre-diabetes and several other indicators from the comfort of your home. No doctor’s visit needed.

There are already wearable devices like Aiikita to monitor your blood pressure from home. Alternatively, most pharmacies offer a blood pressure check for CHF20 to CHF30.

Skin cancer is becoming more common and detecting it early is key not only to improve your chances of survival but also to avoid possibly disfiguring surgeries to treat the issue. Better send a few pictures to a dermatologist to get them checked every year or two than dealing with major scaring, no?

Changes in moles, spots, or lesions. Look for irregularities in color, size, shape, or texture.

You can get your skin checked from home with your smartphone camera with tele-dermatologists like online doctor. Alternatively, you can of course go see a dermatologist. Based on our experience, that might make more sense if you have a lot of moles.

Colorectal cancer, when detected early through the FIT test, boasts an 90% five-year survival rate. This means that individuals who identify and address potential issues early on have a significantly higher chance of overcoming the disease and enjoying a long and healthy life.

FIT test checks for hemoglobin - human blood - in your stool as an early indicator of colon cancer and related issues like polyps. Don’t panic if you test positive, this can also be caused by things other than cancer. You need to do a colonoscopy to get to the bottom of the issue.

With our Colon Cancer Screening test, you can complete this test comfortably from home.

With better treatments for HIV, people have gotten a bit lax with the use of condoms, leading to a rapid increase of sexually transmitted dieases. Infections have doubled over the past 5 years. Tricky thing about STDs is, that they mostly do not cause any obvious symptoms - and can still have serious health consequences. For example, Chlamydia can cause infertility - especially in women - without ever showing any symptoms. So just get checked once a year if you having changing sexual partners and protect yourself and your partners.

Among the most common sexually transmitted infections in Switzerland are chlamydia, gonorrhea (also known as "Tripper"), and an increasing incidence of syphilis. Despite a decreasing trend, there are still occurrences of HIV and hepatitis B and C infections.

In general, you should always get tested if:

• You experience symptoms (such as foul-smelling discharge from the urethra, vagina, or rectum, burning during urination, itching, blisters, or sores in the genital or anal area).
• You are informed that a sexual partner has a sexually transmitted infection.

Moreover, for individuals with frequent changes in sexual partners, it makes sense to undergo regular tests for chlamydia and gonorrhea (Tripper) to detect an infection early, prevent its spread, and avoid complications. Depending on individual risk factors, these tests can be supplemented with extended screening for syphilis, HIV, and hepatitis B and C.

According to research, there is an increased risk among:

• Men who have sex with men (MSM)
• Sex workers
• Individuals engaging in unprotected sex with multiple partners
• Individuals living in regions where STIs are particularly prevalent (such as Geneva, Basel-Stadt, and Zurich)
• Individuals with poor access to sexual health care.

We offer tests for all common STDs, no doctor’s visit needed.

Gynaecology checkup is focused on detecting common cancers - and issues that could lead to cancer such as HPV infections - in women. Important to know: Standard gynaecology check-up does not include screening for sexually transmitted diseases like Chlamydia unless you specifically ask for it.

• Pap smear I HPV test to detect early signs of cervical cancer.
• Breast examination to detect possible signs of breast cancer.
• Examination of pelvic organs including the uterus and ovaries, identifying issues such as fibroids, cysts, or other conditions that may impact reproductive health.

Unfortunately, this a check that cannot be fully done from home yet. While we will be launching a test for HPV screening soon, getting your breasts and pelvis checked is still best done physically by a gynaecologist.

If detected early, prostate cancer treatment is not likely to affect your sexual function in the long-term. However, if not treated early on, in a majority of cases, you are going to be dealing with erectile disfunction for the rest of your life. So just get checked once a year as of age 45.

Prostate specific antigen is an indicator for prostate health. If it is within the normal range, you generally have nothing to worry about. An elevated value requires a visit to the doctor for further diagnostics to see what is causing it - which might not necessarily be cancer, so don’t panic if you test positive.

We will be launching a PSA check soon - sign up to get notified when it is available here.

If you want to get checked in the mean time, your GP or urologist will do that for you as well.