Here is a pill that everyone must take to prevent HIV infection

What’s PrEP?

PrEP which stands for “pre-exposure prophylaxis,” is medicine (pill) that people who are at risk for HIV take to keep from getting HIV from having sex or using injection drugs. PrEP can stop HIV from taking hold of your body and spreading to other parts of it. There are two daily oral medications that are approved by the America’s FDA for PrEP. The FDA has also given its OK to an injectable form of PrEP that works for a long time.

Why should you take PrEP?

When taken as directed by the medical professional PrEP is very good at preventing HIV , according to researchers it reduce the chance of getting HIV from sexual activity by about 99%. When taken as directed, it cuts the risk of HIV by at least 74% for people who inject drugs. PrEP works best when its taken every day as a pill or injected monthly

Is PrEP Safe?

PrEP is harmless. People who don’t have HIV and have taken PrEP for up to 5 years haven’t shown any big changes in their health. Some people who take PrEP may feel little bit sick, have diarrhoea, get headaches, feel tired, or have stomach pain but nothing much worse. Most of the time these side effects aren’t too bad and go away over time. Also, keep in mind that PrEP only protects you from HIV. It does not protect you from other types of infections or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). When you use PrEP and condoms together, you are less likely to get other STIs.

How well does PrEP work?

It’s very important to use PrEP the right way, which means at the right time, every time. If you don’t take your pills or get your shots, PrEP won’t work so well. PrEP doesn’t protect against gonorrhoea or chlamydia, which are also sexually transmitted diseases. So, use condoms in addition to PrEP to avoid other STDs and protect yourself even more against HIV.

You must be HIV negative to start taking PrEP

PrEP is a prevention pill which means that you must be HIV negative to start taking the pill so that you can reduce your chance of getting infected.