Healthcare

If you're new to Leiden or to The Netherlands, you may not be familiar with the Dutch healthcare system. And if you're a gay man, there may very well be some health-related questions not all people in your environment are able to answer. Some advice about staying healthy.

Staying healthy as a gay man

General practioners (or family doctors) play an important role in the Dutch healthcare system. Your GP is usually the first person you turn to when you're ill or when you want to discuss health-related issues. If you have had the same doctor for a longer period of time, he or she is the best-suited person to help you with your problems. And you can rest assured that anything you discuss will stay confidential.

But still... sometimes you just don't feel comfortable with seeing your GP for sex-related issues. This can be for any number of perfectly valid reasons: maybe you don't want him or her to know about your sexual orientation, or you simply want to remain anonymous. In that case you can turn to the local health authority, abbreviated in Dutch to GGD.

The local GGD for the region of Leiden is GGD Hollands Midden. The primary goal of this authority is to ensure public health, and their staff will provide personal advice and information on an anonymous basis about STDs, HIV/AIDS and safe sex. Gay men are entitled to free and anonymous tests for STDs and HIV, as well as free vaccination against hepatitis B.

To obtain more information or to make an appointment about the STD/HIV tests in Leiden, phone (0182) 54 55 88. For vaccination against hepatitis B, phone (071) 516 33 22, and make sure to specify that you want free vaccination because as a man you have sex with other men.

For more general enquiries about STDs and HIV/AIDS, please consult the website Soa Aids - STI AIDS Netherlands.

Condoms

There is just no excuse not to use a condom when you're having sex! You can buy them anywhere: at the supermarket, at night shops, and even when you're going out. The main gay venues in Leiden have condom vending machines available especially for the purpose of making last-minute purchases!

The dispensers at Bar-dancing De Kroon and De Roze Beurs are provided by Safe Service Condooms. A package only costs € 1, and contains two condoms and two sachets of extra lubricant.