Post Exposure Prophylaxis

Post Exposure Prophylaxis is drug treatment that is given to people immediately after they've been exposed to HIV, which might help to stop the virus from taking such a strong hold of the immune system. It is a short course of the traditional ARVs drugs used to treat HIV, only in this case they are given to someone immediately after they have been exposed to HIV.

Treatment usually lasts for one month or so, and should start as soon as possible after exposure. Post-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PEP as it's known, is a course of drugs which is taken for a month or so. The long-term benefits of this strategy are as yet unproven.

Some people who have heard about PEP think that it's like a morning after pill for HIV. This is not true. PEP is actually a complex regime of drugs. Not all hospitals in Scotland offer PEP, and there is no guarantee that you will be given PEP even if you think you have been at risk. There is also no guarantee that this type of treatment will work in the long term to help suppress HIV.

This type of treatment is still on trial, but if you do think you have been infected with HIV very recently, then get in contact with your local clinic and see if it is available.