If you think that you have recently been exposed to human immunodeficiency virus, you should take PEP (post exposure prophylaxis) in order to prevent yourself from actually getting the virus. There is a specific time frame in which you must start the PEP if you think that you were seriously exposed to the HIV virus. In this article, we will talk about the situation in which you must undergo PEP and what should be the time frame when you must get this test done otherwise there would be no benefit of this. In addition to this, we will discuss any potential side effects caused by the PEP. It is important to understand the side-effects because this is not meant for repetitive testing and you should only use it when necessary and it is an emergency situation, otherwise you must take preventive measures to reduce the chances of getting HIV.
Who should get the PEP?
PEP is not for everyone; it is designed for people who had a recent sexual encounter and are considerably exposed to HIV due to one or another reason. It is important to know that in PEP 50mg dolutegravir van Tivicay na vermoedelijke HIV besmetting, you are given the medicines which are given to initially treat the HIV. This helps you to reduce the chances of getting the actual infection if you were really exposed. Therefore, you must always be incredibly careful and should not make it a habit to get PEP because it will seriously expose to certain threats which are explained later in this article. Following could be the situations in which you might undergo PEP:
- If you had a recent sexual encounter and you forgot to take precaution
- When you took the precaution but somehow it did not work
- You were exposed to an infected needle
- A sexual assault happened, and you want to rule out the chances of getting infected
- You shared needles with someone for drug purposes!
In all the above-mentioned situation, it is important to take PEP and it must be taken in emergency, You must call your health care provider within 72 hours, or visit the health care services within the stipulated time period, otherwise there would be no benefit of getting PEP. PEP involves taking regular medicines to cure HIV, this decreases the chances o getting the virus, even if you were exposed to the virus because of any reasons.
Potential side-effects:
It is always not a great idea to take excessive medicines, especially those which are designed to treat sexually transmitted diseases. The reported side effects of taking PEP are nausea, vomiting and fever. However, there could be some serious issues to some people especially if they are pregnant or are breastfeeding. It is important to learn that PEP is not for every time usage. It must be taken when you are certain that there was a problem, and you were potentially exposed to the virus and it was not in your control.
