Protect Yourself and Others from Infection

by Anteh Dispensary Anteh Dispensary

People need to act responsibly and take preventive measures to avoid getting a disease. They must also make sure that they are not spreading the disease to others. Certain diseases are very dangerous, highly contagious and can have disastrous results. HIV is one such infection that can cause a lot of damage to one's health. If not treated, it can reduce your immune systems to such a level that you can die of even the mildest infections. This is why PrEP medication has become very important.

Understanding PrEP Medication

PrEP stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. This term is usually used in association with HIV. This is a method in which people who have tested negative for HIV can protect themselves from getting infected. Certain high-risk people have more chances of getting the disease. Such people must get PrEP mediation to protect themselves.

How effective is PrEP? It has been proved that people who have tested negative for HIV can protect themselves completely from getting infected by using this medicine. It has been proved to reduce the risk of people getting HIV through sexual relationships by around 90%. Medicine has been proved effective in more than 70% of people who inject drugs. Daily use of this drug can certainly protect you from HIV.

Understanding the Effect Of PrEP

So, how does PrEP work? The medicine will need to be taken for at least a week to give protection from infection. The medicine must be taken daily to get adequate protection. When you consume it daily, it remains in your blood. Even if you have sex with a person having HIV infection without using any protection, the medicine in your blood can prevent you from getting infected. PrEP is very useful for people who have sex with partners whose HIV status is not known. It is also good for those sharing injecting equipment with others.

Preventing an Infection after Exposure

Post-exposure prophylaxis in HIV means taking protection from getting infected after being exposed. There are conditions when you have sex with someone and you are not sure whether the person is infected. You still have a chance to prevent getting infected. There are cases when people are sexually assaulted and they don't know anything about the perpetrator. In such cases, it is best to go for PEP.

How Should The Medication Be Taken?

Post-exposure prophylaxis HIV drugs must be taken within 72 hours of exposure. This means that if you have doubts that the person with whom who had sex could be infected, then the best thing to do is to call a clinic and get the medication immediately. It is only effective if it is taken within 72 hours. The medicine should be taken as early as possible as every hour matters. The medicine must be taken for 28 days without any break.

The medication is also very useful in cases where the condom breaks during sex or you doubt that the condom was not effective. For people who have used needles used by others or worked for preparing drugs are also susceptible. Whenever you are in doubt it is better to get in touch with an emergency medical service and get your post-exposure prophylaxis HIV medication and keep yourself safe.

If you are a person who is likely to get infected with HIV it is always better to be safe. There are clinics where you can get advice on such matters and keep yourself away from such a dreaded disease.