Daily use of PrEP is recommended for HIV-negative individuals that may have a high risk of contracting HIV. These include: people who recently had an STD, those with HIV-positive partner(s), gay/bisexual men, sex workers, those who inject drugs, and those who have unprotected sex with partners whose HIV status is unknown.

Post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP, is an emergency medication given to prevent HIV after potential exposure. It must be started within 72 hours of the suspected exposure, and timing is key – every hour counts. Once prescribed, you’ll need to take it every day for 28 days.

PEP is for emergencies only and is not a substitute for other HIV prevention methods, such as condoms or PrEP.

If you’ve been exposed to HIV within the past couple of days, you should get emergency treatment, called PEP, immediately. If started within 72 hours of exposure, PEP can help prevent HIV infection. You can access PEP through Sunset West Health or, if after clinic hours, please don’t hesitate to go to the emergency room or urgent care.



If the exposure period has been longer than 72 hours, you will need to get tested for HIV. If your test is positive, discuss an HIV treatment plan with your medical provider. If your test is negative, you may want to consider PrEP in order to protect yourself from HIV infection in the future.

If you want to take charge of your sexual health and start PrEP, please reach out to us at Sunset West Health. We offer low-cost and free PrEP and HIV educational resources that can help keep you protected and informed.

There is no cure for HIV. But there are ways to prevent it, such as PrEP and PEP, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) medicines to get HIV under control. In fact, when patients take their medicines as prescribed, most people can get the virus under control within six months.

You can significantly reduce the risk of spreading HIV to HIV-negative sexual partners by using condoms and maintaining an undetectable viral load. Having an undetectable viral load also helps prevent transmission from mothers to babies during pregnancy and delivery.

While side effects don’t affect everyone, the most common side effects caused by HIV medicines include:

If you experience these side effects from your HIV treatment, let your healthcare provider know. There may be ways to manage them or modify your treatment plan.