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HIV Prevention | PrEP: What is it?

HIV Prevention | PrEP: What is it?

What is PrEP?

PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a medicine that lowers your chances of contracting HIV from sex or injection drug use.

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) PrEP is safe but can cause side effects that usually go away with time. Some of these side effects are:

  • diarrhea
  • nausea
  • headache
  • fatique
  • stomach pain
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PrEP and Hepatitis B

Another, more serious, side effect of PrEP is worsening of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Your healthcare provider will test you for HBV before you start PrEP. If you have HBV and take PrEP, talk to your healthcare provider before stopping. Your HBV could flare up if you stop taking PrEP.

If you have hepatitis B:

  • Do not run out of PrEP. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider before you are out of medicine.
  • Do not stop taking PrEP without talking to your healthcare provider first.
  • If you stop taking PrEP, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do regular blood tests for several months to check your HBV infection. They might also give you medicine to treat hepatitis B.

There are 2 pills approved by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) for use as PrEP. They are Truvada and Descovy.  Apretude is the only shot that has been approved by the FDA for use as PrEP. You must be HIV-negative to start and stay HIV-negative to keep taking any of these medicines.

Some HIV-1 tests can miss HIV-1 infection in a person who has recently become infected. Let your healthcare provider know if you have had any flu-like symptoms within the last month before starting PrEP. Some of the sumptoms of new HIV-1 infection are:

  • tiredness
  • fever
  • joint or muscle aches
  • headache
  • sore throat
  • vomiting or diarrhea
  • rash
  • night sweats
  • enlarged lymph nodes in the neck or groin

Can Women Take PrEP?

Truvada and Apretude are approved for use by women and people assigned female at birth. Descovy is not approved for people assigned female at birth because its effectiveness has not been studied. 

How Effective is PrEP?

According to the CDC:

PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% when taken as prescribed. 

    Although there is less information about how effective PrEP pills are among people who inject drugs, we know that PrEP pills reduce the risk of getting HIV by at least 74% when taken as prescribed. Currently, PrEP shots are not recommended for people who inject drugs.

      PrEP is less effective when not taken as prescribed.

      Does PrEP Prevent Other Sexually Transmitted Infections?

      No. PrEP does not prevent other STIs. You should always practice safe sex by using latex or polyurethane condoms.

      Should I Consider Taking PrEP?

      PrEP is for people who do not have HIV but are at risk of getting it through sex or injection drug use.

      You might want to consider PrEP if you are HIV-negative, have had vaginal or anal sex in the past 6 months and:

      • have a sexual partner who is HIV-positive
      • have had sex without using a condom
      • have been diagnosed with an STI in the past 6 months
      • have an injection partner who is HIV-positive
      • share needles or syringes

      Talk to your healthcare provider if you think that PrEP might be right for you. If you don’t have a healthcare provider, you can visit sayyestoprep.org to search for a provider in your area.

      Planned Parenthood clinics also offer PrEP. You can search for a clinic near you here.

      The Ready, Set, PrEP program provides access to PrEP medications for free to people who qualify. You can apply for the Ready, Set, PrEP program if you:

      • Don’t have prescription drug coverage.
      • Have taken an HIV test and received a negative result before starting the program.
      • Have a prescription for PrEP.
      • Live in the United States including tribal lands and territories.