Examples of high-risk exposure include:
What Is PEP?
PEP consists of a 28-day course ofantiretroviral drugsthat must be taken completely and without interruption.
Do not wait until the morning to call your healthcare provider.
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Get our printable guide for your next doctor’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
Do not be embarrassed to describe what happened.
The aim of the interview is to ascertain if the incident poses aviable risk of transmission.
Get our printable guide for your next doctor’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
This can help you avoid taking drugs you don’t actually need.
On the other hand, PEP may not be viable if you have waited too long to seek treatment.
PEP isnot recommendedif you delay for more than 72 hours from the time of the exposure.
This does not mean you will get HIVonly that the potential benefits of PEP will have been lost.
Part of the reason for this was that earlier drugs were more toxic and often caused intolerable side effects.
Newer-generationantiretroviralsused for PEP are far more tolerable and tend to cause few, if any, side effects.
PEP can be used for both adults and adolescents.
If the test is negative, you will be counseled on how toreduce your risk of HIVmoving forward.
Once started, you gotta complete the entire 28-day course of treatment.
Whatever you do, don’t stop or miss doses.
In non-occupational tweaks, this is not the case.
A Word From Verywell
PEP is not a morning-after pill.
Both options can greatly reduce your risk of getting HIV.
2017 Spring;4(2):ofx061.
doi:10.1093/ofid/ofx061
Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves first injectable treatment for HIV pre-exposure prevention.
2016;387(10013):53-60. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(15)00056-2
