If I am going into a situation where I know I am at risk for contracting HIV, can I get preventative treatment? If so, how do I go about getting it?

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If I am going into a situation where I know I am at risk for contracting HIV, can I get preventative treatment? If so, how do I go about getting it?

There are a couple different ways in which HIV medication can be used to reduce the chance of having HIV pass to you

Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is when you take HIV medication after being exposed to HIV. To be effective, the treatment needs to be started within 72 hours of exposure to HIV and taken correctly over the next 28 days.

Health initiative for men (HIM) has a good web page on PEP with information on how it works and where you can get it.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is when you take HIV medication on a daily basis before you are exposed to HIV to reduce your chance of getting HIV.

Health initiative for men (HIM) has a good web page on PrEP with information on how it works and how to get it in BC.

Please leave a comment to let us know if this answers your question or if you need more information.

Health Nurse

This answer was posted on October 5, 2015.