What to Know About PrEP Pills for HIV Prevention

PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is a powerful tool that puts you in control of your health.

By taking a pill every day, you can prevent HIV infection. PrEP is a daily medicine designed for individuals who do not have HIV but are at high risk of getting it. It empowers you to prevent the virus from taking hold in your body.

The Common PrEP Medications

There are two types of PrEP medications, and these are the following:

Truvada is a pill that combines two medicines, tenofovir and emtricitabine, and can be used by teens and adults of all ages.

Descovy is a pill combining two medicines but slightly different from Truvada. However, ‘Descovy’ is not recommended by experts for those who were born female as its effects have not yet been studied; therefore, posing undefined risks to female users.

Effectiveness

PrEP is not just effective; it’s highly effective. When taken every day, it can reduce the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% and from injection drug use by at least 74%. This level of effectiveness should inspire confidence in its potential benefits.

Who Should Take PrEP?

PrEP is for people who are at high risk of HIV, including:

Those people with an HIV-positive partner;
People who have sex without condoms with partners of unknown HIV status;
People who inject drugs and share needles.

How To Get PrEP

Getting PrEP is a safe and straightforward process. You need a prescription from a healthcare provider, who will test you for HIV to ensure you are HIV-negative before starting PrEP.Some people may experience side effects like nausea, headaches, or tiredness, but these usually go away after a few weeks of taking it. If you’re on PrEP, you need to see a healthcare provider every three months for an HIV test and to check for side effects. Besides preventing HIV, being on PrEP means you’re regularly seeing a healthcare provider, which helps you stay on top of your overall health.