Why should PEP be taken within 72 hours?

What Is PEP? PEP, or post-exposure prophylaxis, is a short course of HIV medicines taken very soon after a possible exposure to HIV to prevent the virus from taking hold in your body. You must start it within 72 hours (3 days) after a possible exposure to HIV, or it won’t work.

Can PEP be effective after 72 hours?

How well does PEP work? If taken within 72 hours after possible exposure, PEP is highly effective in preventing HIV. But to be safe, you should take other actions to protect your partners while you are taking PEP.

How effective is PEP after 24 hours?

If you believe you have been exposed to HIV, you should seek PEP treatment as quickly as possible. PEP must be taken within 72 hours of exposure or it will have little to no effect in preventing an HIV transmission. In fact, PEP is the most effective when it is taken within 24 hours.

What happens if you miss a day of PEP?

If you do miss a dose and you remember in less than 24 hours, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If you miss more than 48 hours of PEP ( two consecutive doses ) it will be discontinued.

What does PEP do to your body?

PEP involves a 4-week course of HIV treatment that helps prevent someone from HIV infection. PEP works by stopping the virus from replicating after recent exposure. The cells originally infected with HIV die naturally within a short period of time, reducing the likelihood for HIV to establish itself in the body.

What happens after taking PEP?

Does PEP have side effects? Some people experience no side-effects at all, but some people do. Side-effects are usually only mild to moderate, and include headaches, nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting. They are usually worse in the first week of taking PEP and reduce over time.

How bad are pep side effects?

The most common reported side-effects (over 1\% of people) of lamivudine/zidovudine taken together are: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, tiredness, headache, dizziness, weakness, muscle pain, loss of appetite, fever, abdominal pain, hair loss, insomnia, rash, cough, runny nose, joint or muscle pain, fat loss, anaemia, low …

How long is PEP taken?

PEP must be started within 72 hours (3 days) after a possible exposure to HIV. The sooner you start it, the better; every hour counts. You need to take the PEP medicines every day for 28 days.