Health Report

P.E.P.: Have You Been Exposed?

by Unknown Author

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

If you have:

• had sex without a condom;
• shared injecting equipment;
• ever had a condom break during sex;
• You may have been exposed to the HIV virus.

If a condom breaks or you feel that you had sex that was not as safe as it could be to protect you from HIV, there is a new option you should be aware of, it's called PEP.

PEP means "post-exposure prophylaxis" and is simply a short course of the drugs currently used to treat HIV/AIDS.

Doctors believe that taking a short course of anti-HIV drugs may help prevent you from becoming infected in situations where you may have been exposed to the virus (through sex without a condom, sharing injecting equipment or when a condom breaks).

PEP is no substitute for safe sex. The drugs used in PEP are powerful and commonly cause difficult side effects like cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting, headaches and tiredness. They also require you to stick to a difficult routine of diet and pill-taking schedules for four weeks.

There is also no guarantee that the drugs will help to prevent you from becoming infected, only the possibility that it may help reduce the risk.

Because PEP does not always work, the best option is still to avoid sharing needles and avoid anal or vaginal sex without a condom.

To ensure the maximum benefit of PEP you need to take the drugs as soon as possible after the exposure. The drugs may still be helpful for up to 72 hours after the exposure but are best within the first couple of hours, so seek medical advice straight away!

In New South Wales PEP is only available from a doctor. Contact your local sexual health clinic, hospital emergency department or doctor who specialises in HIV as soon as you can. A doctor will be able to discuss your options.

During business hours you can also get PEP from Sexual Health Clinics or the doctor that usually performs your HIV/sexual health examinations. You can also get PEP from hospital emergency departments 24 hours - be sure to let a staff member know that you need to take your first dose as soon as possible.

Remember, if you're not sure where to go for PEP or would just like more information, don't wait - call freecall 1800 816 518 or your local sexual health clinic.

If you attend a hospital emergency room for PEP, you may have to wait because of other patients requiring more urgent attention.

However if a clinic or hospital refuses to consider you for PEP or tells you they do not provide it, you have the right to make a complaint to:

the Health Care Complaints Commission of NSW
Level 4, 28-36 Foveaux Street,
Surry Hills,
on (02) 9219 7444 or freecall 1800.043.159.

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.