- Sometimes, you are at high risk for getting HIV after unsafe sex
- For example, if you had sex against your will. Or the condom broke
- You can still make sure you don’t get HIV after sex by using PEP medicines.
- Go straight to the health department (GGD) or the hospital immediately after sex to get PEP. It won’t be effective if you don’t
- You are only given PEP if the chance of you getting HIV is very high
What is PEP
PEP is a course of medicines that keep you from getting HIV. Did you take PEP soon after having sex? Then you will rarely get HIV. You have to start taking it within 72 hours. Otherwise it doesn’t work. And you can still get HIV.
You take the medicine once a day for four weeks. After that, you are tested. You will get another test three months later. Then you will know for sure whether you have HIV or not.
High risk of HIV?
Have you had unsafe sex and do you think you might have HIV? Make an appointment with your local municipal health service (GGD) immediately after sex. Or go to the hospital.
When and where
When and where can you get PEP?
You are only given PEP if the chance that you get HIV is very high. That is only if:
- You’ve had unsafe sex. That means you didn’t use a condom.
- You took drugs with someone using the same needle
- You’re not taking PEP. These are medicines that you take around the time you have sex. They keep you from getting HIV
- You don’t know whether your client has HIV or not
You can read about how you can get HIV at soaaids.nl
Go to the health department (GGD) or the hospital immediately
Have you have sex and do you think you might have HIV? Go to the health department (GGD) or the hospital emergency room immediately after sex. Talk to your doctor about what happened. The doctor determines whether you should take PEP.
If possible, take the person you had sex with to the doctor with you. The doctor can test your partner’s blood to see whether he can give you HIV or not. If he can’t, you don’t need to take PEP.
Start taking the medicine as soon as possible
Start taking medicine immediately. If you do, the chance of you getting HIV is the lowest. Preferably, start taking PEP within two hours after sex.
There is no longer any point in taking PEP 72 hours after sex. The medicine won’t work.
If you’ve been raped
Were you raped? You can also contact the Sexual Assault Centre (Centrum Seksueel Geweld). They make sure you get PEP, but can also help you file a report against your rapist and offer support.
Costs
No, you don’t have to pay for it yourself. You medicine will be paid by your health insurance. It will be deducted from your deductible. So sometimes you have to pay part of it yourself.
Side-effects
The medicine may cause:
- Headache
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Tiredness
These side-effects go away.
Don’t get HIV
Was the test negative for HIV? Then make sure you start protecting yourself against HIV now:
- Use a condom when you have sex. Read more about condoms
- Take medicine that keeps you from getting HIV: PrEP
- Get an HIV test twice a year. Then you will know for sure that you don’t have HIV
Never at risk of getting HIV again with PrEP
PrEP is a pill that you take every day. Or only if you have sex. You won’t get HIV. That’s a safe idea if sex is your job.
