Condoms aren’t your only option when it comes to HIV prevention. Here’s all you need to know about PrEP, and why you may want to consider using it.

If you haven’t heard of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) yet, today’s your lucky day because this treatment could potentially save millions of lives, including yours and that of your loved ones. The reality is that we live in a country where sex and sexual health is so stigmatised it’s difficult to even start a conversation about HIV/AIDS, STDs and STIs without making most people uncomfortable. The downside of that is that we end up in a situation where we’re too ashamed to face things that should come as naturally as breathing. And because of that, we often find ourselves under- or misinformed, which results in poor decisions.

So let’s address the elephant in the room: we all have sex, at some point in our lives, with women, men, both or everything in between. What’s more, not all of us have sex in committed or monogamous relationships, and even those who do have one partner may occasionally dabble in discreet sexual relations on the side. We all have to make safe and informed choices, for ourselves and the people that matter to us.

Using condoms during sexual intercourse is wise and necessary, but it’s not the only thing you can do. We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but condoms can’t fully protect you from HIV/AIDS. They can break, fall off, expire or be compromised if you use the wrong lube. That’s where PrEP comes in, a blue pill you take daily, which, according to cdc.gov, is around 99% effective at stopping your body from contracting HIV – slightly higher than condoms. As they say, prevention’s better than the cure. That’s not to say you should stop using condoms altogether. PrEP doesn’t prevent the transmission of STDs and STIs, so your best bet would be to combine the two.

How does it work?

Most important is that you take PrEP daily, as prescribed, and don’t put yourself or others at risk through activity before the drug kicks in – it takes seven days unless you’re a recreational drug user, in which case the prescribed period is 21 days. In any case, your doctor will advise that you to take it daily for two weeks until it’s safe for you to have sex. After that, you need to take it daily for as long as you remain sexually active.

Where do I find it?

Among several options is to find your nearest sexual health clinic on health4men.co.za or visit your GP and ask for an evaluation and prescription. There are two types of PrEP you can trust, Truvado and Descovy, the main difference being that any person or gender that complies with a health check can take Truvado, whereas you can’t take Descovy if you were assigned female at birth.

Yes, that’s right, both men and women can take PrEP just not both variants.

PrEP is safe to use, but some people may experience side effects such as diarrhoea, nausea, headache, fatigue and stomach pain. These side effects are nothing to worry about and tend to go away with time. The health check consists of an HIV/AIDS test and a kidney/liver screening, to ensure taking PrEP won’t be a risk to your health. The majority of people are compatible with it.

Is it expensive?

PrEP’s not expensive at all, and besides, its benefits to your health outweigh the cost. The good news is that the majority of health insurance providers cover it. Some practitioners or providers of sexual health care offer it free or at a reduced price (visit health4men.co.za to find out more).