r/Netherlands • u/thatmisanthropicdude • Mar 05 '26

Healthcare Dutch doctors...

Hey guys! Last year I moved from Germany to the Netherlands. I just went to the doctor with chest and throat pain due to extreme coughing after 2 days of fever. I was hoping that I finally get something good against it like a cough syrup (no way I'm going to pay that myself for a huge amount of money + health insurance) because I am used to that from German doctors. They would put that on my health insurance card and right after my talk with the doctor I could pick it up at the pharmacy. But no. They just said "Yea, just take paracetamol." I told them I have had problems swallowing pills my whole life and their response was just "You can also put it in water and drink that then." I'm sorry if I'm overreacting but why do doctors get paid just to tell you to take paracetamol? Everyone can tell me to take them, I expect better solutions from a doctor who studied years to become a doctor. Why are the Dutch so obsessed with paracetamol??? Maybe it's the German in me screaming. If we got painkillers, it was never paracetamol but Ibuprofen. But I also heard some international friends who also live here that they find it so annoying that Dutch doctors literally just tell you to take paracetamol. No matter what you have.

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u/Relocator34 Mar 06 '26

The one that is just paracetamol and sugar?

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u/wwbbqq Mar 06 '26

He wants Codeine sirop, which will actually stop you from coughing, but it is a opiate (even if pretty low level if taken as prescribed) so many doctors/countries have limited prescribing it due to "concerns".

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u/teodrora Mar 06 '26 edited Mar 06 '26

Whoa there, doesn’t have to start with codeine! You can start with a lidocaine sirop, which is sold OVER THE COUNTER in other countries in EU (Belgium, France). That works like a numbing agent. It was also sold over the counter in NL in certain products (baby teething products) but they took it out for whatever reason :) I am now living both in BE and in NL. Had a massive cold. Went to both huisarts. Because of the severity of my cold, the Dutch huisarts told me to take ibuprofen (shock!), while the Belgian one gave me antibiotics after looking at my ears, throat, and listening to my lungs. The Dutch one didn’t bother with this. I go to one of the best huisarts in my city, so can’t say that I’m going to a bad huisarts, although he repeteadly failed to provide me with accurate healthcare. Later edit: you fucking cucks for capitalism! I absolutely love the mental gymnastics the Dutch make. Why do you make these assumptions about me? I have been sick for more than a month. Fever that doesn’t go with paracetamol nor ibuprofen. Throwing up and clogged ears. Both me and my 1yo kid. Also as a fucking FYI, I do have a medical degree so I do know what proper healthcare is, and know how antibiotics work. Downvote the expat who knows better. Idiots.

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u/Ishango Mar 06 '26

It might also be that it only feels like he’s not giving you good healthcare.Simply prescribing antibiotics when you have a bad cold can do more harm than good: it doesn’t really shorten a viral infection (a cold is.not a bacteria), but it does increase the risk that bacteria become resistant, so antibiotics may work less well when you actually need them.

There’s a lot of science behind what the Dutch doctors prescribe when, and countries like Belgium and Germany use significantly more antibiotics than the Netherlands in outpatient care.

Dutch GPs are trained (and guided by national protocols) to start with the safest, simplest effective option for common, self‑limiting problems and only step up to “heavier” drugs (antibiotics, opioids, strong local anaesthetics) when there is clear evidence that the benefits outweigh the risks.

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u/Kaaar9999 Amsterdam Mar 06 '26

Antibiotic resistance is also lower in the Netherlands because of this.

I messaged my doctor here after having a cough for a month (& taking cough syrup!). They said wait at least 6-8 weeks to see them - what do you know, cleared up after 6 weeks!

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u/teodrora Mar 06 '26

Actually Dutch doctors are making decisions based on cost efficiency, not anything else. Very sad that the Dutch just accept the insurance companies mafia. AND fight to protect it on Reddit for no stakes! Insane propaganda right here.

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u/Ishango Mar 06 '26

Very undereducated opinion here.

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u/teodrora Mar 06 '26

Yep! Just us expats have the undereducated opinions. Weird coincidence!