From what age does eye screening make sense?

The age bands in the section 'Who should come, and when' give the orientation: with no symptoms and no risk factors, a first baseline examination with an eye pressure measurement from about forty, and from about sixty at shorter intervals. Anyone with glaucoma in the family, with diabetes, who is highly short-sighted or who already carries an eye diagnosis begins earlier — here the findings set the pace, not the calendar. Children are a case of their own: an ophthalmic check-up at pre-school age makes sense even when nothing stands out, because a child does not itself notice a weaker eye. Two signs, however, do not wait for that appointment: a whitish or absent red pupil reflex — on a flash photograph, for instance — and an eye that suddenly turns. Get in touch about that the same day; with a baby or toddler go directly to a children's eye clinic or an ophthalmic emergency department.

How often should you come for eye screening?

A binding screening rule of the kind the dental check has does not exist for the eyes in Switzerland, and we do not pretend that it does. As a guide, without symptoms: from about forty every two to three years, from about sixty closer together. As soon as there is a finding — a borderline eye pressure, a noticeable optic disc, first retinal changes — the interval follows from that finding and is markedly shorter. You are given the next date concretely at the end of the appointment, not as a general recommendation.

I see well — do I still need a screening examination?

Seeing well is a pleasing piece of information about the middle of the field of vision on that day. It is no information about the optic nerve, the eye pressure or the retinal periphery. Glaucoma does not begin in the centre of vision but usually in an arc around it, and the brain fills missing areas in from the surroundings — which is why gaps go unnoticed for a remarkably long time. Early changes at the centre of the retina can be present while you are still reading the eye chart without difficulty. If you see well and have no risk factors whatever, that is an argument for a longer interval — not for not looking at all.

Does the health insurer pay for eye screening?

That is not decided by the device but by the reason for your visit. Screening alone, with no symptom and no underlying condition, is not a mandatory service of basic health insurance and is billed to you privately. A family history — glaucoma in a parent or sibling, for instance — can count as an indication; that is not automatic, though: it depends on the individual case and on your insurer, and we clarify it with you before the appointment. If you come with symptoms, with a concrete suspicion or for follow-up of a known diagnosis — even when you feel well — there is a medical indication and the examination runs through basic health insurance; deductible and co-payment apply as at any doctor's appointment. If a disease finding emerges during a self-paid screening, the judgement changes for the further assessment. We tell you before the examination which category your appointment falls into — not afterwards.

Does the pupil have to be dilated for screening, and may I drive afterwards?

Dilation is used only where the back of the eye is to be assessed in full — the retinal periphery, where tears and holes arise, cannot be viewed reliably through a narrow pupil. For a pressure check alone or the assessment of the front of the eye it is often not needed, and we decide that by the clinical question and not routinely. If drops are used, please do not drive yourself: near vision stays blurred for several hours and you are markedly sensitive to glare. Plan for public transport or a companion, and take sunglasses with you. Very rarely, in an eye with a very narrow anterior chamber angle, dilation triggers an acute glaucoma attack: if in the hours afterwards the eye hurts badly, turns red, appears hard, you see coloured rings around lights or you feel sick, call at once — outside consulting hours the ophthalmic emergency service, or the emergency department of an eye clinic directly.

How long does an eye screening examination take?

Expect about forty-five to ninety minutes if the pupil is to be dilated — most of that is waiting for the drops to take effect, and you spend that waiting time with us. A targeted check without drops, an eye pressure measurement with a slit lamp examination for instance, is considerably shorter. If additional examinations such as a visual field test or a cross-sectional scan of the optic nerve are added, the appointment gets correspondingly longer. Do not put another appointment immediately after it: there should be time at the end to discuss the findings unhurriedly.

Is a check at the optician enough as eye screening?

For the question 'which glasses?' the optician is a good address, and for many people that is exactly what they need. For the question 'is everything all right with my eyes?' it is not enough: eye pressure, the optic nerve head, the retinal periphery and placing a noticeable finding in context belong to the medical examination, and only a doctor may identify a disease, treat it and prescribe medicines. The two do not exclude one another — many people go to the optician for the glasses and come to us for the screening. In that case bring the values last measured with you; that saves duplicate measurements.

Do I need a referral from my GP for screening?

As a rule no: ophthalmologists in Switzerland are directly accessible, and you can book an appointment without a referral. It is different where your insurance model requires one — GP, HMO and Telmed models require, depending on the contract, that first contact goes through the agreed point. If in doubt, settle that in five minutes with your health insurer before you come. Bring any referral letter you have and earlier findings with you; from the comparison with an older scan we read more than from a single measurement.

Eye examinations

Eye screening: the diseases that do not hurt at the start

'But I see well' — that is exactly what eye screening is about. The common, chronic form of glaucoma and macular degeneration begin without pain, without a red eye and without blurring; they are often noticed only once something is already missing. The rare acute glaucoma attack is the exception — it hurts a great deal, turns the eye red and is an emergency (see below). A screening examination therefore does not ask how well you see but what there is to see at the eye pressure, at the optic nerve and at the retina. It is not a compulsory appointment and not a subscription but a stocktaking — from which an interval follows, or the answer that in your case nothing is needed for now.

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Why eye screening is worth anything at all

Most people come to the ophthalmologist because something is bothering them: print goes blurred, the eye is red, driving at night has become more of an effort. That is entirely right — and it does not cover precisely those diseases that give no sign of themselves at the start. Screening addresses that gap. It is the appointment for the case where you feel nothing.

Two diseases explain why it is worthwhile. Both begin quietly, both affect many people in the second half of life, and both can be seen at the optic nerve or at the retina long before they make themselves felt. What early detection achieves is, however, not the same in both — we say below where it changes the course and where it at first only creates knowledge.

Glaucoma: the loss begins where you are not looking

In glaucoma and what happens at the optic nerve in the process nerve fibres are lost — painlessly, slowly and first in an arc outside the centre of vision. Central visual acuity, that is, what an eye chart measures, often stays unremarkable for years. On top of that, the brain fills missing areas in from the surroundings: gaps in the visual field therefore go unnoticed for a remarkably long time, and by the time they are noticed they are already large.

The decisive sentence about it is uncomfortable, and it belongs at the start: Lost nerve fibres do not come back. What is recognised early can be treated to slow the progression; what is already missing cannot be brought back. That is precisely where the whole point of early detection lies — and not in a number that one ought to have measured once.

Macular degeneration: two forms, two different time windows

The age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects the point of sharpest vision — and it takes two forms that must not be packed into one sentence, because they make themselves felt in completely different ways.

The dry form is the more common one, and it is the form that a screening examination typically finds: It begins as a rule without any symptom at all. Straight lines are straight with it. It is seen first at the back of the eye and in the cross-sectional scan of the macula, not in what you notice. When it does eventually make itself felt, it does so slowly: the eye takes longer to adapt to darkness, you need more light to read, contrasts appear flatter — and only late does a grey patch appear in the middle of the picture. The gain from screening here lies not in an immediate treatment but in placing it in context: you know afterwards that you belong to a group that should watch for changes, and what you would recognise a change by.

The wet form is the time-critical one. It typically announces itself by straight lines appearing wavy: window frames, tile joints, lines of text. Here the timing really does count, because the window for treating wet macular degeneration is measured in days and not in months. Newly distorted or wavy lines, particularly if you notice them when you cover one eye, are not a case for the next free screening appointment: get in touch about them the same day.

Two things hold for both forms. Early changes can be present while you are still reading the eye chart without difficulty — visual acuity is not a good sentinel here. And as long as both eyes are open, the better eye compensates for the weaker one; a one-sided loss can therefore only stand out when you cover one eye.

What you can do yourself: Now and then cover one eye and then the other, and look with the open one at a regular pattern — tile joints, a window frame, the check of a tablecloth. Watch for whether lines bend, whether a piece is missing or whether an area appears grey. The second half of this information belongs with it, or it does harm: an unremarkable self-test does not rule out a change at the centre of the retina and does not replace the regular ophthalmic check-up. It is good for noticing a change — not for ruling one out.

And what screening is not

It is not a blank cheque. An unremarkable examination says that there was nothing to find on that day — it says nothing about the next three years, and it does not replace your getting in touch when something changes. Nor is it a substitute for the follow-up that an already known diagnosis calls for: anyone under follow-up because of a finding keeps to that interval and not to a screening rule. And it is not a contest between devices. What is measured is decided by the clinical question — which methods there are at all and how they feel is set out in detail under the ophthalmic examination in overview.

Who should come, and when

For the eyes there is no binding screening schedule in Switzerland of the kind many people know from the dental check. The figures below are therefore points of orientation for people without symptoms — not rules, and not appointments you can miss. As soon as there is a finding, it sets the interval, and then it is tighter.

By age

Pre-school age: one ophthalmic check-up, even when nothing stands out. A child does not compare and therefore never reports a weaker eye itself. Two signs, however, do not wait for that appointment: a whitish or absent red pupil reflex — on a flash photograph, for instance — and an eye that suddenly turns. Get in touch about that the same day; with a baby or toddler go directly to a children's eye clinic or an ophthalmic emergency department.
School age and adolescence: as the occasion requires. Where short-sightedness is increasing rapidly, check at shorter intervals. Anyone who needs new values several times within a few years at this stage of life — above all where the astigmatism is increasing — should also have the cornea measured: behind it there can be a keratoconus, which shows itself early only on the corneal map. Timing counts here, because sharpness once lost cannot be brought back later.
About 20 to 40 years of age: without risk factors rarely necessary. Reason enough: contact lenses, symptoms at the screen or a form for the driving licence — and spectacle values that change several times within a few years. At this age too, a measurement of the cornea where keratoconus is suspected then belongs with it; at the slit lamp alone an early form is not visible.
From about age 40: a baseline examination including eye pressure. After that, depending on the findings, often every two to three years.
From about age 60: shorter intervals, because cataract, glaucoma and macular degeneration become more common at this stage of life.

These checks without symptoms are as a rule self-pay services — what falls into which category is set out further down in the section Costs.

By risk profile

These situations bring the start forward and shorten the intervals. They are the real reason why a blanket age rule does not hold — and the reason why we ask you about them when you register:

Glaucoma in a parent or sibling. A family history is one of the reasons that justify starting earlier and checking more often. Eye pressure, the optic nerve and the visual field are then assessed earlier and regularly; how glaucoma begins and how it progresses, you can read on the page about it. If a check does find a raised value, treatment does not follow automatically: when a raised eye pressure is treated and when monitoring is enough is set out on the treatment page.
Diabetes. Changes to the retinal vessels develop without pain and without any deterioration in vision. That is why with diabetes a regular check of the back of the eye belongs with it — in practice usually organised as an annual check, while the interval itself follows the findings, the duration of the diabetes and how well it is controlled. Two starting points are often forgotten here: with type 2 diabetes the first look at the back of the eye belongs to making the diagnosis, with type 1 diabetes five years after it at the latest — and in pregnancy the checks are closer together. What is looked at is under Diabetes and the eye: what the annual check examines. That check is medically justified and therefore not screening alone.
High short-sightedness. A highly short-sighted eye is built longer, its retina stretched thinner and more prone to tears. Anyone affected should know the warning signs and have the periphery assessed regularly — more on what severe short-sightedness means for the retina.
Macular degeneration in the family. Anyone who knows of AMD in a parent or sibling should have the centre of the retina assessed regularly. Newly occurring wavy lines or letters that jump, by contrast, do not belong in a screening plan: get in touch about those the same day — see What does not wait for the screening appointment.
A known eye diagnosis, an earlier eye injury, or having had eye surgery. With retinal findings, after a blunt injury or an injury to the eye, under treatment with eye drops or after a procedure, the interval follows from the progression — that is follow-up and not screening.
Long-term treatment with certain medicines. Two groups matter particularly for an eye check: longer-term steroid treatment, because it can raise the intraocular pressure, and hydroxychloroquine, because it calls for monitoring of the centre of the retina. Whether that applies to you is something the prescribing doctor tells you — bring the list of your medicines with you.
Contact lenses. Lenses sit on the cornea all day. An annual check of the cornea and tear film is therefore not a formality, especially where the eyes burn in the evening — see dry eyes and an unstable tear film.

If you are unsure which group you belong to: say so on the phone. Sorting that out takes two minutes and decides how much time we plan in for you — you can also go straight ahead and book an appointment for your eye screening online.

What a screening examination here covers

No appointment covers everything an eye can be examined for. What is done is decided by the clinical question — and each time we tell you why a device makes sense right now. The shape of a screening examination as a rule looks like this:

The conversation first. Your age, your eyes in the family, diabetes, medicines, earlier findings — from that follows what is even in question at this appointment.
Visual acuity and correction as the baseline value, each eye separately. Not as the aim of the appointment but as the reference for everything that follows.
Intraocular pressure. Without contact, with a short puff of air or, more accurately, at the slit lamp after an anaesthetic drop.
The front of the eye at the slit lamp. Eyelid margins, tear film, conjunctiva, cornea, anterior chamber, iris and lens.
Optic nerve head and retina — for the periphery with the pupil dilated, for the optic nerve and macula often without.
Additional examinations according to the findings. A cross-sectional scan, a visual field test or a measurement of the corneal thickness, where a value or an image gives cause for it.
The discussion. Findings, what they mean, and a concrete proposal for the next appointment.

Intraocular pressure (tonometry)

What is measured is the pressure inside the eye, a central value in assessing glaucoma. Without contact this is done with a short puff of air — the puff startles you the first time but does not hurt. More accurate is the measurement at the slit lamp after an anaesthetic drop: you feel nothing and see a blue light for a moment. While the drop is working, about half an hour, do not rub the eye; you would not feel an injury.

Two things we say openly about it: A normal eye pressure does not rule out glaucoma, and a raised value does not prove one. That is why the optic nerve head and the visual field belong to the assessment, and why we measure the corneal thickness when the value is borderline. Anyone who reduces screening for you to a single pressure figure is cutting it short in the wrong place.

Optic nerve and cross-sectional scan (OCT)

The optic nerve head is assessed directly: its shape, the extent of the central cup, the width of the rim, haemorrhages at the edge. Where a question stays open, optical coherence tomography adds a cross-sectional image at microscopic resolution — without contact, without radiation, without an injection. You look at a fixation point for a few seconds while the device measures. The scan shows the thickness of the retinal nerve fibre layer at the optic nerve as well as fluid, swelling and membranes at the macula, and it makes the progression over years comparable. That is precisely where its value for screening lies: the second appointment is more informative than the first.

Where visual field loss is in question, a perimetry is added. Honestly, it is the most demanding examination of the day — one eye covered, the gaze fixed on the centre, and pressing at every point of light however faint. Missing points is normal and allowed for, and the first measurement often comes out worse than later ones, because the task is unfamiliar. That is why we assess the course and not single values.

The retina with the pupil dilated

The retinal periphery — where tears and holes arise — cannot be viewed reliably through a narrow pupil. For that part, dilating drops are needed; they take around twenty to thirty minutes to work and wear off over several hours. This examination is not pleasant: the light is very bright, and afterwards you see coloured after-images for a few minutes. It does not hurt.

Before the drops we look at the anterior chamber angle. That is the drainage area at the front of the eye, and how narrow it is we assess at the slit lamp — precisely because a very narrow angle carries the rare risk of an acute glaucoma attack. Where it is noticeably narrow we do not simply put drops in, but discuss with you beforehand how we will proceed.

What the dilated examination achieves depends on who is sitting in front of us. With symptoms — flashes of light, a new swarm of black dots, a shadow from the side — it is the examination that finds a tear, before it becomes a retinal detachment. Without symptoms it is worthwhile above all in highly short-sighted eyes and where retinal findings are known. And not every peripheral finding calls for a measure: much is monitored and not treated — what applies in your case we tell you with the findings.

What is not part of it: We do not use drops routinely. Where the periphery is not in question, dilation is not needed, and we tell you before the appointment what applies to you — so that you know whether you can come by car.

What a normal eye test does not rule out

A great many people come with a reassuring number in mind: 'the values were fine, after all.' But a measured visual acuity describes only how finely your eye resolves on that day under test conditions — not what state the structures behind it are in. Everything that is measured, and when a check at the optician is enough, is on the page of its own about it: what an eye test at the ophthalmologist measures and what it does not. Here it is only about the other half — what is left open afterwards:

Glaucoma. Begins outside the centre of vision. The eye chart tests the centre. It is recognisable from eye pressure, the optic nerve head and, where necessary, from the visual field and a cross-sectional scan — not from the letters.
Macular degeneration. Early changes are present while the chart is still being read, and the better eye covers for the weaker one as long as both are open.
Diabetic retinal changes. Develop without pain and without any deterioration in vision. The interval follows the disease, not how well you feel you see.
Retinal tears and holes in the periphery. Lie outside everything an eye chart shows, and cannot be assessed reliably without a dilated pupil.
Cataract and its first signs. The clouding is troublesome first with glare and at dusk — while the value on the chart can go on looking respectable for a long time.
Dry ocular surface. If sharpness fluctuates over the course of the day and no correction quite fits, sometimes it is not the lenses but the tear film.

That is not drama but a division of labour: 'Which glasses?' and 'is everything all right with my eyes?' are two different examinations. If you are unsure which of the two you need, say so when you register — we settle that on the phone in two minutes, and it decides how much time your appointment needs.

What stands at the end of the appointment

A screening examination is only worth something when you go home with an answer. That is why the appointment here does not end with a number but with one of three answers — and we tell you which it is.

No sign of anything. Then you are given an interval and nothing else. No additional examination 'to be on the safe side', no package, no follow-up appointment in three months. The values from this appointment stay documented as an earlier reading — next time that is exactly the gain.
Borderline or unclear. A borderline eye pressure, a noticeable optic disc, an image that is ambiguous. Then comes a targeted additional examination or a follow-up at a short interval — and we tell you what we want to rule out with it. 'Watching' is a decision, not an embarrassment, as long as it is clear what is being waited for.
Finding. From here on it is no longer screening but an assessment: it is medically indicated, it runs through basic health insurance (OKP), and what happens next is discussed with you. Referring physicians receive the report; the details are under Details for referring physicians.

At the end, ask about what you really want to know — what the value means, what happens if you do nothing, and what you would notice at home that should bring you in sooner. Write your questions down beforehand. In the consultation it is regularly precisely the one you cannot think of.

What does not wait for the screening appointment

Screening is planned. Some signs are not — and they are not equally urgent, which is why we separate them here.

Immediately, within the next few hours: a sudden, painless loss of vision in one eye — including where the vision comes back by itself after seconds to minutes: a temporary one-sided loss of vision is a warning sign of a circulatory problem and needs assessing as an emergency the same day, not waiting on. Equally immediate: severe eye pain with a red eye, nausea and coloured rings around lights; sudden double vision together with headache, a drooping eyelid, pupils of unequal size or other neurological deficits; from about the age of sixty, newly occurring pain in the temples, pain on chewing or a temple tender to pressure together with disturbed vision; and any chemical burn — with that, first rinse the eye thoroughly with water for at least 15 minutes. In these cases take a route that does not depend on whether we are open: the emergency department of an eye clinic or the ophthalmic emergency service; if the general condition is threatening, call the ambulance (144). Do not wait for a call back.

To be assessed the same day: flashes of light together with many new black dots; a shadow or curtain moving in from the side into the field of vision; sudden double vision without the accompanying signs just named; newly distorted or wavy lines; a grey patch in the middle of the picture; any injury and any foreign body. With children two signs belong here that wait just as little: a whitish or absent red pupil reflex — on a flash photograph, for instance — and an eye that suddenly turns; with a baby or toddler go directly to a children's eye clinic or an ophthalmic emergency department with that. Otherwise call us: +41 44 500 69 00, Mon–Fri 08:00–12:00 / 13:00–17:30. Outside these hours the ophthalmic emergency service applies.

And the counterpart to that, because it is asked just as often: Not every change is an emergency. Reading glasses that no longer fit, a single strand in the vitreous unchanged for years, tired eyes after a long day at the screen — that belongs in a regular appointment and not in the middle of the night. Newly appeared dots or strands, by contrast, expressly do not belong on this list: They are harmless only once the retina has been checked all round with the pupil dilated. Until then a new swarm of black dots is a case for the same day, not for the next free screening appointment.

Your appointment: preparation, duration and locations

A well-prepared appointment saves you a second one. Bring with you: your insurance card and, if you have one, the referral letter; all the glasses you use, including the old ones; contact lenses with their case; the list of your medicines including eye drops; earlier findings, doctors' reports and operation records; sunglasses and, if drops are used, a companion or a public-transport ticket.

How long it takes: Expect forty-five to ninety minutes if the pupil is dilated — most of that is waiting for the drops to take effect. A targeted check without drops takes considerably less time. If a visual field test or a cross-sectional scan is added, the appointment gets longer. We plan realistically and tell you the expected duration when you register.

We carry out the screening examination at all three locations. You can book your screening appointment online or call the clinic nearest you directly; all addresses and directions are under all three locations, with directions and parking.

Sehklinik Zürich

Hallenstrasse 8, 8008 Zürich
Phone: +41 44 422 25 55
Mon–Fri 08:00–12:00 / 13:00–17:30
Tram 11/15 or bus 912/916 to 'Zürich, Kreuzplatz', three minutes on foot — Getting here and details for the Zurich location

Sehklinik Wetzikon

Bahnhofstrasse 126, 8620 Wetzikon
Phone: +41 44 930 61 00
Mon–Fri 08:00–12:00 / 13:00–17:30
Bus 850/851/852 to 'Wetzikon ZH, Schloss', one minute on foot — Getting here and details for the Wetzikon location

Sehklinik Meilen

Dorfstrasse 94, 8706 Meilen
Phone: +41 44 923 03 81
Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 08:00–12:00 / 13:00–17:30; Wednesday varies, please ask by phone
S6/S7 to Meilen station, two minutes on foot — Getting here and details for the Meilen location

Outside consultation hours, the ophthalmic emergency service applies. If you would rather write than phone, you can reach us in writing through the contact form; an overview of our other ophthalmic consultations you will find in the ophthalmology section.

Costs & health insurance

What does the insurer pay for — and what not?

What decides coverage is not the device but the reason for your visit. Screening with no symptom is not treatment of illness; as soon as a symptom, a suspicion or a known diagnosis lies behind it, it is. We tell you that before the examination, not with the bill.

Service	Coverage	What this means for you
Screening examination without symptoms and without a risk factor	Self-pay service	Anyone who simply wants a check once, with no symptom and no underlying condition, has no medical indication in the sense of basic health insurance. That examination we bill you privately; some supplementary insurance policies contribute towards it — ask them beforehand. A family history can count as an indication; it is not automatic, though: that depends on the individual case and on your insurer, and we clarify it with you before the appointment.
Examination for symptoms or a concrete suspicion	Basic insurance (OKP)	Anyone who comes with a symptom — worse vision, flashes of light, distorted lines, double vision, pain — has a medical indication. The examination and the additional examinations needed for it are billed through basic health insurance. Deductible and co-payment apply as at any doctor's appointment.
Follow-up with a known diagnosis or with diabetes	Basic insurance (OKP)	Glaucoma, macular degeneration, retinal findings, diabetes, having had eye surgery: the check is medically justified even when you feel well and see well. That is follow-up and not screening — the interval follows from the findings.
A finding during a self-paid screening	Depending on the reason	If a disease finding emerges during a screening with no symptom, the judgement changes for the further assessment: from then on that part is medically indicated. The screening part itself remains a self-pay service. We keep the two apart in the report, so that the bill stays traceable.
Additional examinations: cross-sectional scan, visual field, corneal thickness	Depending on the reason	These methods are not extras you book on top but examinations that a clinical question calls for. Where there is one, they run through basic health insurance; in screening alone, without an indication, they do not. That is why we use them selectively and not as a package.
Examination at the request of a third party (driving licence, employer)	Self-pay service	An examination that someone else requires is not treatment of an illness. You pay for it yourself, whatever the result. Some employers cover the cost against a receipt — ask them before you come.

Deductible and co-payment. Of the costs that run through basic health insurance, you first pay your chosen deductible in full yourself, then the co-payment of ten per cent up to the statutory annual maximum. An examination 'at the insurer's expense' is therefore rarely free for you. That is not a peculiarity of our clinic but how Swiss basic health insurance works.

If in doubt, ask beforehand. The most common reason for anger about an eye doctor's bill is not its size but the surprise. Tell us when you book why you are coming; then we tell you which category your appointment falls into. Call us — +41 44 500 69 00, Mon–Fri 08:00–12:00 / 13:00–17:30.

Related conditions

Medically reviewed by PD Dr. med. Andrea von Rückmann

Your ophthalmologistPD Dr. med. Andrea von RückmannView profile

Frequently asked questions about eye screening

: The age bands in the section 'Who should come, and when' give the orientation: with no symptoms and no risk factors, a first baseline examination with an eye pressure measurement from about forty, and from about sixty at shorter intervals. Anyone with glaucoma in the family, with diabetes, who is highly short-sighted or who already carries an eye diagnosis begins earlier — here the findings set the pace, not the calendar. Children are a case of their own: an ophthalmic check-up at pre-school age makes sense even when nothing stands out, because a child does not itself notice a weaker eye. Two signs, however, do not wait for that appointment: a whitish or absent red pupil reflex — on a flash photograph, for instance — and an eye that suddenly turns. Get in touch about that the same day; with a baby or toddler go directly to a children's eye clinic or an ophthalmic emergency department.
: A binding screening rule of the kind the dental check has does not exist for the eyes in Switzerland, and we do not pretend that it does. As a guide, without symptoms: from about forty every two to three years, from about sixty closer together. As soon as there is a finding — a borderline eye pressure, a noticeable optic disc, first retinal changes — the interval follows from that finding and is markedly shorter. You are given the next date concretely at the end of the appointment, not as a general recommendation.
: Seeing well is a pleasing piece of information about the middle of the field of vision on that day. It is no information about the optic nerve, the eye pressure or the retinal periphery. Glaucoma does not begin in the centre of vision but usually in an arc around it, and the brain fills missing areas in from the surroundings — which is why gaps go unnoticed for a remarkably long time. Early changes at the centre of the retina can be present while you are still reading the eye chart without difficulty. If you see well and have no risk factors whatever, that is an argument for a longer interval — not for not looking at all.
: That is not decided by the device but by the reason for your visit. Screening alone, with no symptom and no underlying condition, is not a mandatory service of basic health insurance and is billed to you privately. A family history — glaucoma in a parent or sibling, for instance — can count as an indication; that is not automatic, though: it depends on the individual case and on your insurer, and we clarify it with you before the appointment. If you come with symptoms, with a concrete suspicion or for follow-up of a known diagnosis — even when you feel well — there is a medical indication and the examination runs through basic health insurance; deductible and co-payment apply as at any doctor's appointment. If a disease finding emerges during a self-paid screening, the judgement changes for the further assessment. We tell you before the examination which category your appointment falls into — not afterwards.
: Dilation is used only where the back of the eye is to be assessed in full — the retinal periphery, where tears and holes arise, cannot be viewed reliably through a narrow pupil. For a pressure check alone or the assessment of the front of the eye it is often not needed, and we decide that by the clinical question and not routinely. If drops are used, please do not drive yourself: near vision stays blurred for several hours and you are markedly sensitive to glare. Plan for public transport or a companion, and take sunglasses with you. Very rarely, in an eye with a very narrow anterior chamber angle, dilation triggers an acute glaucoma attack: if in the hours afterwards the eye hurts badly, turns red, appears hard, you see coloured rings around lights or you feel sick, call at once — outside consulting hours the ophthalmic emergency service, or the emergency department of an eye clinic directly.
: Expect about forty-five to ninety minutes if the pupil is to be dilated — most of that is waiting for the drops to take effect, and you spend that waiting time with us. A targeted check without drops, an eye pressure measurement with a slit lamp examination for instance, is considerably shorter. If additional examinations such as a visual field test or a cross-sectional scan of the optic nerve are added, the appointment gets correspondingly longer. Do not put another appointment immediately after it: there should be time at the end to discuss the findings unhurriedly.
: For the question 'which glasses?' the optician is a good address, and for many people that is exactly what they need. For the question 'is everything all right with my eyes?' it is not enough: eye pressure, the optic nerve head, the retinal periphery and placing a noticeable finding in context belong to the medical examination, and only a doctor may identify a disease, treat it and prescribe medicines. The two do not exclude one another — many people go to the optician for the glasses and come to us for the screening. In that case bring the values last measured with you; that saves duplicate measurements.
: As a rule no: ophthalmologists in Switzerland are directly accessible, and you can book an appointment without a referral. It is different where your insurance model requires one — GP, HMO and Telmed models require, depending on the contract, that first contact goes through the agreed point. If in doubt, settle that in five minutes with your health insurer before you come. Bring any referral letter you have and earlier findings with you; from the comparison with an older scan we read more than from a single measurement.

Screening is an appointment, not a project.

Say when you register that it is about a screening examination, and whether there is glaucoma or macular degeneration in your family. Then we plan in the right amount of time and tell you beforehand whether drops will be used — and whether you had better leave the car at home.

Book a screening appointment online

+41 44 500 69 00 — Mon–Fri 08:00–12:00 / 13:00–17:30. Or book an appointment online.