HIV Protection

Question

Can you reduce the risk of getting HIV after
having unprotected sex with someone who
has HIV?

Let's say you had sex with someone who is
HIV infected and the condom broke, or you
found out only after unprotected sex that
your partner had HIV or let us say after the
sex your partner threatened you that he/she
had HIV and that he/she intentionally want
to transmit it to you or you are exposed to
HIV through other means. Just smile and go
straight to a standard hospital before 72
hours after sex/exposure or better still
immediately.

Why should I smile, can the risk of getting
HIV from sex or any other exposure possible
by taking medications afterward?

Yes. This is called postexposure
prophylaxis, or PEP.

The medications that are given are the same
types that are used to treat HIV
(antiretrovirals, or ARVs), and they usually
are given as a combination of 3 medicines
for l month. To work best, these ARVs
should be taken as soon as possible after
the exposure, and ideally not later than 72
hours after the exposure. To be evaluated
for postexposure prophylaxis, the exposed
individual should contact his/her clinician or
an emergency room promptly after the
exposure.

Exposed persons do not have to know the
HIV status of the person with whom they
had contact in order to be offered PEP--
providers will evaluate the risk level of the
exposure and, if possible, offer testing to the
source individual. The exposed person
should be tested for preexisting HIV and
other sexually transmitted diseases such as
hepatitis B, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and
syphilis, but the first dose of PEP should not
be delayed in order to complete that testing.
The sooner after the exposure PEP
medicines are started, the more likely they
are to be effective. People on PEP should be
monitored for side effects or toxicity from
the PEP medicines and tested again for HIV
after the treatment is completed.

If you have a partner who is HIV-positive, or
if you have had to take PEP more than once,
you might want to consider taking pre-
exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). PrEP is an ARV
pill that people who are at risk of getting HIV
can take every day to prevent HIV infection.