Post Exposure Prophylaxis

PEP stands for post-exposure prophylaxis. It means taking antiretroviral medicines (ART) after being potentially exposed to HIV to prevent becoming infected.

Please contact us at the earliest, if you are HIV-negative or don’t know your HIV status, and in the last 72 hours

– you think you may have been exposed to HIV during sex (for example, if the condom broke),

– shared needles for intravenous drugs, or

– were sexually assaulted

PEP must be started within 72 hours after recent possible exposure to HIV, but the sooner you start PEP, the better. If you’re prescribed PEP, you’ll need to take it once or twice daily for 30 days. It is not a substitute for regular use of other proven HIV prevention methods, such as using condoms the right way every time you have sex or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which means taking HIV medicines daily to lower your chance of getting infected; and using only your own new, sterile needles and works every time you inject drugs.