Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication is prescribed to HIV-negative people to protect themselves from HIV infection. It can lower these people’s risk of becoming positive for this virus when exposed to it. The medication has been proven 99% effective at preventing the infection when taken every day or on-demand under a doctor’s advice.
Who Can Benefit from Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis?
PrEP in East Village is ideal for HIV-negative individuals at risk of HIV infection. They include men who have unprotected sex with people of the same sex. Also, the medication is ideal for those having an HIV-positive sexual partner and sexually active people who don’t always use condoms. The use of this medication is a personal choice and not all people can benefit from it. To decide whether it’s right for a patient, their circumstances and the risk of exposure to HIV are considered. Doctors can tell their patients if PrEP is the right option for them.
Reasons PrEP Works
If a person is exposed to HIV, PrEP can stop the invasion and spread of the virus in the body. When the medicine is constantly present in the bloodstream, a person at risk of this virus can stay HIV-negative. The medicine is a combination of tenofovir and emtricitabine. It is often taken every day and in combination with other medications for HIV.
The Way HIV Attacks the Body
The body cannot naturally fight and eliminate HIV, which tends to target a person’s immune system, aiming at a certain kind of white blood cell. Leukocytes or white blood cells shield the body against disease and infection. HIV attacks CD4 cells or T-cells, which help in coordinating the immune response of the body against harmful invaders. However, HIV targets these cells and reproduces there. They will then spread throughout the body. The survival of HIV depends on these cells.
How PrEP Works
PrEP sets up fortified walls around T-cells, preventing HIV from crossing into healthy cells and reproducing. Even if HIV enters the body, it cannot breach the walls to reach the CD4 cells. PrEP starts giving protection 7-20 days following the first dose. Those who get this medication must be periodically monitored by their doctors, often once every 1-3 months.
Experts recommend that PrEP must be combined with additional techniques like safe-sex practices to reduce one’s risk even further. As with other medicine, PrEP does not suit everyone and may produce side effects, especially when used for an extended period.