PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is a pill which prevents HIV infection. It’s a combination of the drugs tenofovir and emtricitabine which block HIV should it enter your body.

It’s important to be properly informed about PrEP before you consider ordering it or starting it.

The amazing team at London’s 56 Dean Street have made this quick and simple video to make sure you know all the facts and get the correct checks and guidance in advance.

Wherever you are in the UK, you can always speak to THT’s helpline on 0808 802 1221. They can help you access services local to you across the UK, whether provided by them or by someone else.

PrEP is the most effective if it is taken once a day, with over 99% success rate of preventing infection when the daily dosing is adhered to. It has a lower success rate if it is not taken daily.

PrEP is recommended if you are HIV negative and are sexually active with a number of different partners where condoms are not always used, you have anal and/or vaginal sex and you are unaware of the HIV status of your partners. You may wish to take PrEP if you are involved in high risk drug injection or if your partner is known to be HIV positive.

The most effective way of taking PrEP is once a day at the same time of day, with or without food. PrEP can also be taken ‘on demand’ but this is only really suitable for anal sex (not vaginal or frontal) and is not suitable for somebody with a hepatitis B infection. There is a specific way to take PrEP on demand and therefore careful planning is required.

We fully recommend taking PrEP every day.

PrEP is most effective if it has been in the bloodstream for between and 4 and seven days in terms of anal sex, but it requires a longer period of up to three weeks in the bloodstream to reach adequate levels of protection in terms of vaginal sex.

PrEP is most commonly used by gay men, but is also effective in preventing HIV in heterosexual individuals. Levels of PrEP in the vagina and cervix are most effective when taken as a daily dose and not as ‘on demand’ dosing. PrEP has not been found to interfere or interact with gender-affirming hormones and is therefore effective for transgender individuals.

Studies have shown that people who take PrEP correctly and do not contract HIV show no possibility of acquiring drug-resistant HIV. Drug resistance develops when a person who already has HIV takes an inadequate amount of anti-HIV drugs and their HIV develops mutations. Therefore, if somebody failed to take PrEP correctly, subsequently contracted HIV but continued to take PrEP, then their HIV could become drug-resistant, although the chance of this occurring is extremely rare.

Condoms protect you against STIs. PrEP does not. Therefore if you wish to be fully protected from both HIV and STIs you may wish to use a combination of both PrEP and condoms.

Like all medicines, PrEP can produce side effects. The most common short term side effects are nausea, headaches and diarrhoea and these should ease off within a week or so. Long term side effects are less common but include adverse effects on the liver, kidneys and bone density.

It is always best to check with your destination country for restrictions on certain medicines before you travel. To avoid confiscations at customs always carry your PrEP inside the original packaging with the patient information leaflet. Don’t forget to allow for time zone adjustments so that you continue to take your pill at the same time each day.

TBC

If your medicine was produced by an FDA-approved Indian pharmaceutical company, it was then resold to our Indian supplier for export. All of this is legal and in accordance with UK customs laws. Rest assured, the medicine you are taking is of the highest standard.