No. There is no pill that prevents HIV infection.
You may have heard about medications for HIV that are used to prevent infection
after exposure. These medications are called Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP).
PEP is not a single pill; it is a 4-week treatment including several anti-HIV
medications designed to reduce (but not eliminate) the possibility of infection
with the virus after a known exposure. People on PEP must take very high doses
of the anti-retroviral medications used to treat HIV infections. They must follow
a strict medication regime, taking many pills several times a day. The side
effects of PEP include nausea, tiredness, swelling of the liver, and kidney
stones.
Who is PEP for?
Currently, PEP is primarily intended for the prevention of infection in cases
where there has been a known high-risk work-related exposure to HIV, mainly
through accidental needle-stick injuries. One study showed, however, that 3
out of 10 health care workers did not finish their PEP treatments. PEP has also
been given to victims of sexual assault.
There is a lot of debate about giving more people access to PEP. The treatment
is quite expensive, costing between $600 and $1200 for the 4-week treatment.
Also, these drugs have to be taken exactly as prescribed and involve much more
than just taking a few pills every day. They should not be prescribed just to
give a person peace of mind. In addition, PEP requires that the drugs be started
within a few hours after a known high-risk exposure, yet many of these drugs
are not readily available in most pharmacies. Therefore, PEP is not available
to most people under normal circumstances.
Does PEP work?
No one knows for sure if PEP works or not. So far, studies have only looked
at how PEP works on health care workers who have been exposed to HIV by accident.
However, over 30 percent of these workers stopped taking the medication before
the end of the 4-week treatment. In the case of those who completed the treatment
and were found to be HIV negative, researchers have no way of knowing whether
the infection was eliminated by the medications or if the exposure was actually
not enough to lead to an infection in the first place.
There is no research on how PEP works on people who have been exposed to HIV
through sex or needle use. In fact, there are no established guidelines regarding
which drugs to use when PEP is being considered for non-occupational exposures.
Even if people have greater access to PEP in the future, it will never take
the place of preventing HIV. You should continue to reduce your risk of getting
HIV by practicing safer sex and not sharing needles for tattooing, piercing
or drug injection (see Question “How
can I have sex more safely?”).
Additional Resources
Post-Exposure
Protocols
For more information, contact your local
AIDS service organization or health care practitioner.
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