PEP
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PEP (POS-Exposure Prophylaxis) is a four-week course of anti-HIV treatment drugs you can take if you think you may have just been exposed yourself to HIV through unprotected sex or by sharing a needle. PEP can, in most cases, stop HIV from establishing itself in the body and prevent you from becoming HIV-positive, if the PEP treatment is begun within 72 hours of exposure to HIV and taken correctly over the next 28 days.
PEP is a combination of two, or sometimes three, of the anti-HIV treatment drugs that HIV-positive people take daily to minimize the virus's ability to multiply in their body.
PEP is NOT a morning after pill that makes it easy and safe to have unprotected sex. PEP is no picnic; you have to take two or three drugs every day for 28 days for it to work. These often cause very unpleasant side effects such as nausea and headaches. The easiest way to avoid having to take PEP is to wrap it up i.e., use a condom and water-based lube.
Source: Victorian AIDS Council/ Gay Men's Health Centre, Victoria, Australia
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