PEP is a combination of anti-HIV medications, often taken as one or two combined pills per day.

By limiting HIV’s ability to reproduce itself, PEP prevents HIV from spreading, cell to cell, in your body. HIV gets a hold in your body by infecting cells and then making more copies of itself. This happens in the first 1-3 days after HIV manages to get into the body. With PEP, HIV will be stopped before it gets the chance to spread.

PEP can reduce the possibility that you get HIV, especially if you take it right away. PEP doesn’t always prevent HIV infection, but is considered very effective most of the time. PEP must be taken within 72 hours after exposure, but the sooner you take it, the more likely it will work. You must take it at the same time every day for 28 days for it to work effectively.

PEP is only meant to reduce the risk of HIV infection from a single exposure to HIV. It is important to be careful not to expose yourself again to HIV when actively taking PEP. For another HIV prevention strategy that involves HIV-negative guys taking anti-HIV medications to reduce the risk against ongoing, multiple exposures, check out PrEP.

 

You can learn more about where we got this information from at: CATIE, NIH

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