Belgrade Health Festival: Free Checkups Until 7 PM
Until 7 p.m. today, the Serbian Armed Forces House in Belgrade offers free blood sugar, blood pressure, eyesight and hearing checks, no health card needed.
Where in Belgrade can you get your blood sugar, blood pressure and eyesight checked today for free, no health card and no waiting for an appointment? The answer is simple: at the Serbian Armed Forces House, during the 32nd Health Festival.
The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 19 Brace Jugovica Street, and admission is free. This year’s theme looks at how addictions, smoking, alcohol and poor diet drive an epidemic of chronic noncommunicable diseases such as heart attacks, diabetes and cancer. The head of the organizing committee is pediatrician Dr. Mirjana Micovic, the spelling used by Kurir, eKlinika and the City of Belgrade’s website. Danas lists her once as Mira Micovic, but all the sources are describing the same person in the same role.
Ahead of the festival, Dr. Micovic explained why prevention matters so much:
“We want to send the message that prevention matters a great deal, because we don’t just die from a heart attack, but from the habits that precede it for years.”
That is the point of the whole event. Instead of waiting for symptoms, you can walk in and find out where you stand, for free and without paperwork.
What you can get checked at the booths
The list of checkups is long, so here is what most people actually come for:
- blood sugar level and blood pressure
- hearing and eyesight
- mineral and vitamin levels in the body
- pulse oximetry, meaning the oxygen percentage in your blood
- body mass index and nutritional status, plus body composition on a dedicated scale
- dental health
- screening for dementia, anxiety and depression
- diabetes risk assessment
- spirometry and a skin test for atopic dermatitis
- examination of moles and other skin changes
Who qualifies for a free ultrasound?
The Military Medical Academy has its own booth, and it is the real reason to set aside two hours. From 10 a.m. to noon it offers a free thyroid ultrasound, and from noon to 2 p.m. a carotid artery ultrasound. In the afternoon, the academy’s hygiene specialists and dietitians are on hand with nutrition advice.
Women under 45 get an additional offer: from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. they can have an ultrasound of the breasts, abdomen and thyroid. If you fall into that group and keep putting off your regular checkup, this is a chance to cross it off your list without booking a gynecologist appointment.
A program for kids, and a panel for women
The festival is not just for adults. There are talks for elementary and high school students, therapeutic massage and stage exercise sessions, plus a “Children’s Corner” with a “Teddy Bear Hospital,” where kids bring their toys in for a “checkup” and lose their fear of white coats along the way.
Starting at noon, Lepa&Srecna magazine is hosting a panel with Zaklina Milenkovic, Dajana Svraka Milutinovic, Ivana Ideja Todoric and Milica Bursac, on keeping your health, looks and inner peace intact.
The official opening is at 11 a.m. Confirmed guests include Prof. Dr. Nebojsa Tasic, assistant health minister; Prof. Dr. Slavica Djukic Dejanovic, psychiatrist and adviser to the interior minister; cardiologist Dr. Nada Macura; and Stari Grad municipality president Radoslav Marjanovic. At the pre festival press conference, Dr. Svetlana Vucetic Arsic, a neurologist and addiction specialist; Dr. Vesna Mandrapa, a general practitioner; and Dr. Lela Ilic, an epidemiologist, also spoke.
What to bring, and what you can skip
- You don’t need: a health card, an appointment, or a single dinar for the checkup itself
- Bring: enough time, since the more popular booths, like the ultrasound stations, draw a line
- Traveling with a kid: stop by the Children’s Corner before or after your checkup, it makes the wait easier
If you are a parent who keeps putting off your child’s regular checkup, a woman over 40 who has never made it to a breast ultrasound, or you just want to know your blood sugar number, today until 7 p.m. is your reason to stop by the Serbian Armed Forces House. The checkup itself is quick, the line is the only obstacle, and you get your results on the spot.
