What is PrEP?
PrEP – pre-exposure prophylaxis (means to prevent an illness or disease)
HIV PrEP – medication to prevent HIV
PrEP is an HIV prevention option for people who test negative for HIV. It’s a medicine that comes in two forms: (1) pill – once a day, or (2) shot – depending on the medication, every 1–2 months or every 6 months. When PrEP is used correctly, it can greatly reduce risk of HIV transmission.
How does it work?
Scientists found out the medication used to treat HIV can also be used BEFORE someone has HIV to prevent infection. After this discovery, PrEP medications were created to prevent HIV, and they are very effective.
How effective is it?
There has been A LOT of research done on the effectiveness of PrEP.
The research says that when someone gets a prescription for the pill form of PrEP and takes it every day as directed, the likelihood of HIV infection (if exposed) is reduced by up to 92%!! But skipping a day here and there brings prevention effectiveness down. In other words, PrEP doesn’t work if you don’t take it.
The injectable form of PrEP is newer, but there is still a lot of research available. The research says that when someone gets a prescription for the injectable form of PrEP and goes to their injection appointments to receive the medication when they’re supposed to (every 1-2 months or every 6 months, depending on the medication), the likelihood of HIV infection (if exposed) is reduced by up to 99%!!
Is PrEP right for me?
PrEP might not be for everyone. Below are a few questions to get you started thinking about it. If you can answer yes to any of the questions below, then PrEP may be one HIV prevention strategy to consider.
- Do you use condoms only sometimes or not at all?
- Do you often get STIs in your vagina or butt?
- Have you taken post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) more than once in the past year?
- Are you in a relationship where your sexual partner is HIV positive, and you are HIV negative?
- Are you in an open relationship or having anal and/or vaginal sex with multiple partners?
- Are you having sex with someone who may not know if they have HIV? Testing is the only way for you both to know.
This list was provided by Project Inform, which ended in 2019.
We have more info available on how to get started with PrEP, how to talk with your doctor about PrEP, and how find a clinic that prescribes PrEP.