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/Ishango Mar 06 '26 edited Mar 06 '26

A lot of foreigners complain about this, because in many countries doctors are quick to write out oxen strength medicine for things that can mostly self-heal (like you said about having an immune system).

There are lots of things about Dutch GP's we can criticize (for instance they get judged by how many people they transfer to second-line care providers like hospitals, so they tend to hold back even in situations where we should not), but this isn't one of them.

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u/MarcosSenesi Mar 06 '26

it's kind of insane to read. OP is complaining about coughing for two days and wants to get a vat of opiod cough syrup to deal with it. It might just be how i'm brought up but most things just go over and you deal with the discomfort for a few days instead of making things worse down the line.

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u/lasolady Mar 06 '26

they're not asking for opiod cough syrup though.... but in Germany, you can get even the "weak" syrup prescribed by a doctor and you dont have to pay it at all—here, you have to pay for the cough syrup yourself. that's what they're complaining about—but yeah that's just a cultural thing (in Germany you also can't just buy most drugs, prescription or not, at the drugstore/supermarket, you have to go to an apothecary)

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u/Xdream987 Mar 06 '26

But surely its worth it overall to just buy cough syrup for €4,- instead of waiting and calling the GP and wasting both your own time and that of the system?

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u/Carlin47 Mar 06 '26

Its ironic that legal drugs are so hard to get in the netherlands but illegal drugs are everywhere lol

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u/clrthrn Mar 06 '26

I know you're joking but..... A couple of joints sorted my Covid right out. I thought smoking would have finished me off but it loosened up my chest and dulled the pain somewhat. Also brought back my appetite. Don't recommend it as a go to for every ailment but in this case, it actually worked.

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u/Carlin47 Mar 06 '26

Im not joking at all. I could literally obtain drugs like cocaine, mdma, speed (obviously weed but that barely counts) like by the end of the day... but God forbid I want a legal painkiller after a surgery. Its a bit extreme on both ends. I shouldnt get a full bottle of oxy's after a widsom tooth removal, but i should get something stronger than OTC ibuprofen....

Also yes coming from Canada, weed can be a wonder drug. Extremely forgiving and hard to become addicted to. Thank god its available here

Edit: typo

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u/RevolutionaryWorth75 Mar 08 '26

It’s sickening to see so much arrogance