PrEP HIV Prevention medication is a daily pill that can lower your chances of getting HIV from sex. Using condoms along with PrEP keeps you even safer,
and can help you avoid other STDs.
PrEP is safe, effective and available at the Health Department.
PrEP HIV Prevention medication is a daily pill that can lower your chances of getting HIV from sex. Using condoms along with PrEP keeps you even safer,
and can help you avoid other STDs.
PrEP is safe, effective and available at the Health Department.
PrEP stands for Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis. This is not a drug, but rather a regimen for taking the common HIV treatment medication named Truvada.
It is available for specific populations of people with clinically identified risk factors and can help prevent you from getting HIV if you are exposed to the virus. It does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
PrEP isn’t right for everybody. PrEP is for people who don’t have HIV, and are at higher risk for getting HIV. You may want to talk with a doctor or nurse about PrEP if you:
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Don’t regularly use condoms.
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Have a sexual partner who has HIV (sometimes called serodiscordant, serodifferent, magnetic, or mixed status couples).
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Have a sexual partner who is at high risk for getting HIV (like if they have anal or vaginal sex with other people without condoms, or they’re an injection drug user).
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Have anal or vaginal sex with many partners, especially if you don’t use condoms regularly.
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Recently had another STD (like chlamydia, gonorrhea, or syphilis).
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Do sex work that includes vaginal or anal sex.
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Have injected drugs, shared needles, or been in treatment for drug use in the past 6 months.
If you’re at high risk for HIV and you’re pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or breastfeeding, PrEP may also help you and your baby avoid getting HIV.
Your doctor or nurse will talk with you about your situation to figure out if PrEP is right for you. It’s important to be honest so you can get the best health care for you — doctors and nurses are there to help, not judge. The more accurate information they have, the better they can help you.
PrEP isn’t the same thing as PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis). PEP is a short-term treatment for people who’ve already been exposed to HIV within the past 72 hours. PrEP is an ongoing daily pill for people who may be exposed to HIV in the future.
If you use it correctly, PrEP can lower your chances of getting HIV from sex by more than 90%. And using condoms and PrEP together helps you stay even safer. PrEP can also lowers your chances of getting HIV from sharing needles by more than 70%.
It’s really important to take PrEP every day. PrEP doesn’t work as well if you skip pills. If you don’t take it every day, there might not be enough medicine in your body to block HIV.
PrEP doesn’t prevent other sexually transmitted infections, like gonorrhea and chlamydia. So use condoms along with PrEP to help you avoid other STDs and give you extra protection against HIV.
PrEP is very safe. No serious problems have been reported in people who are taking PrEP.
It may cause side effects like nausea, loss of appetite, and headaches. These side effects aren’t dangerous and they usually get better with time, once your body gets used to PrEP. Most people on PrEP have no side effects at all.
If you do have side effects that bother you and don’t go away, talk with your doctor or nurse. They can help you figure out ways to deal with side effects and make sure everything’s ok.
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"You can get PrEP at the Roanoke City Health Department and some local doctors’ offices.
Your health care provider will talk with you about the sex you have, the protection you use, and your medical history to see if PrEP is right for you. They’ll also give you tests for HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and other STDs. And they'll test your kidneys to make sure they’re working well.
Some health care providers don’t know about PrEP, or are unaware of all of the facts about PrEP. If you don’t have a doctor, or your regular provider doesn’t prescribe PrEP, you still have options. The Roanoke City Health Department can provide up-to-date, accurate, non-judgmental information about PrEP, and help you get a prescription if PrEP is right for you.
There are also other organizations that can help you get and pay for PrEP. Greater than AIDS has a tool that can help you find PrEP near you.
Once you’re on PrEP, you’ll need to go back to your doctor or nurse at least every 3 months to get tested for HIV. They’ll talk with you about any side effects or symptoms you may be having. They may also test you for other STDs, and test you to make sure your kidneys are working well. If pregnancy is possible for you, you might get a pregnancy test too.
It’s really important to go to these follow-up appointments to make sure you’re healthy and HIV-free. It’s really unlikely you’ll get HIV if you’re using PrEP consistently. But if you do happen to get HIV while using PrEP, it’s important for your health to stop using PrEP right away. PrEP is not a treatment for HIV — in fact, taking PrEP when you have HIV can actually make the virus harder to treat.
Most health insurance plans, including Medicaid, are required to provide at least one PrEP medication option at no cost to the patient. Check with your insurance company to see if PrEP is covered on your plan. If your plan does not include PrEP, contact the VDH PrEP Coordinator at 804-864-7335 for assistance.
You might also be able to receive help with other expenses, like copays, coinsurance, and deductibles, through a patient assistance program or a patient advocacy group like the Patient Advocate Foundation.
The staff at the Roanoke City Health Department can also help you apply for health insurance or assistance programs that can make PrEP affordable for you.
