[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-405229-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-405229-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","prep-to-prevent-hiv-everything-you-need-to-know","PrEP to Prevent HIV - Everything you need to know","","PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) is HIV prevention medicine that lowers the risk of HIV infection when a person is exposed. It is appropriate for individuals at HIV risk, including some people with sexual exposure and people who inject drugs, and it is effective and safe when taken as prescribed. Options include a daily oral pill or a once-monthly injection. The guide explains eligibility risk factors, required pre-PrEP lab tests, counseling, adherence, follow-up every 3 months, stopping guidance, and where to find further resources through VA and national programs.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/","Healthcare",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/prep-to-prevent-hiv-everything-you-need-to-know/405229/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/prep-to-prevent-hiv-everything-you-need-to-know/405229.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Elsa","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-28",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What is PrEP and how does it help prevent HIV?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"PrEP is medicine that reduces the risk of HIV infection if you are exposed. When used as prescribed, it works very well and is considered very safe.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"Who should consider taking PrEP?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"Consider PrEP if you are sexually active or inject drugs and you have one or more HIV risk factors, such as inconsistent condom use, multiple partners, a partner with HIV, recent STIs, or sharing injection equipment.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What care is needed before and during PrEP treatment?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Before starting, providers discuss risks and practices and perform tests, including HIV testing and tests for kidney problems, hepatitis B, and STIs. During PrEP, patients should take medication exactly as prescribed and have visits and/or lab work at least every 3 months.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},405229,1790672409,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,110,115,120,123,127],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":117,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":119},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":118,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":118,"slug":122},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":124,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":125,"show_sort_weight":124,"slug":126},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":128,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":129,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":130},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":132},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":133,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":107,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":26,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":97,"preview_page_count":4},137455077381,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","[October 2022 | www.hiv.va.gov](October 2022 | www.hiv.va.gov)  \nPrEP to Prevent HIV:  \nEverything you need to know  \nHIV PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) is medicine that reduces the risk of HIV infection if you are exposed. If you are at risk of becoming infected with HIV, it can bean important part of your sexual health care. If you inject drugs, it can be an important part of your safer drug-use practices. It works very well and is very safe if used as prescribed. PrEP is available as a daily oral medication (pill) or as a once-a-month injection (shot). Talk openly with your providers about your sexual and/or drug-use practices, your HIV risks, and your ability to take PrEP regularly—it’s the only way they can determine if PrEP is likely to work for you, and it’s the best way to identify the right tools to keep you healthy.  \nWho should consider taking PrEP?  \nConsider PrEP if you are a sexually active man who has sex with men, a heterosexual person, a transgender person, or a person who injects drugs, AND you have one or more of the risk factors for HIV listed below. Significant risks for HIV infection include:  \n• Using condoms only sometimes or not at all  \n• Having more than one sex partner  \n• Having a sex partner(s) who has HIV  \n• Having had a recent sexually transmitted infection (STI), such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, or syphilis  \n• Having an injecting partner(s) who has HIV  \n• Sharing injection equipment  \n• Engaging in sex work  \n• Using stimulants, poppers, cocaine, meth, ecstasy, or GHB, especially with sex, in the past year  \n• Having taken post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent HIV in the past year  \nAs you can see, a lot of people have risks for HIV infection. If you have even one of these risks, please discuss PrEP with your VA provider.  \nBefore PrEP  \nYour health care providers will discuss PrEP with you and do lab tests to figure out if PrEP is appropriate for you. Here are some of the things they will do before PrEP can be prescribed:  \n• Discuss your sexual practices (sexual health history), injection drug-use practices, and your risks of HIV and other STIs; counsel you about reducing these risks  \n• Discuss your pregnancy intentions. For people who can get pregnant, do a pregnancy test  \n• Test for HIV  \n• Test for kidney problems, hepatitis B, and sexually transmitted infections  \n• Advise you about the PrEP medications, including:» possible side effects and what to do if you get them  \n» the importance of taking PrEP every day for the daily medication or importance of making your  \nmonthly appointment for the injectable PrEP » symptoms of acute HIV infection » the frequency of follow-up visits  \nU.S. Department  \nVeterans Health Administration  \nDuring PrEP  \nAlways take your medication as prescribed. It is important to stay on top of your prescription and make sure that you do not run out. The patient portal (MyHealtheVetor MyVAHealth) is a helpful tool to monitor your prescription status, make sure you have your upcoming appointments scheduled (including injections for injectable PrEP), and more! It is also very important that you contact your provider if you develop:  \n• Symptoms that could signal that you have developed acute HIV infection—these include flu-like symptoms and rash  \n• Side effects. Truvada® and Descovy® are the medications used for daily oral PrEP. They do not usually cause bothersome side effects. Some people experience nausea, diarrhea, or headache when they first start it; usually these symptoms get better within a couple of weeks. Your provider will tell you about other uncommon side effects. It may take 1-3 weeks for the medication to become fully effective. For injectable PrEP, side effects may include injection site soreness.  \nYou will have clinic visits and/or lab work at least every 3 months. Your provider will evaluate your HIV risks, test you for HIV and STIs, do a pregnancy test (if indicated) evaluate side effects, etc.  \nStopping PrEP  \nIf you would like to stop","cbCaiqaQjpCY6abv","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiqaQjpCY6abv","pdf",351921,"English","# Who should consider taking PrEP?\n# Before PrEP\n# During PrEP\n# Stopping PrEP\n# Resources","[{\"question\":\"What is PrEP and how does it help prevent HIV?\",\"answer\":\"PrEP is medicine that reduces the risk of HIV infection if you are exposed. When used as prescribed, it works very well and is considered very safe.\"},{\"question\":\"Who should consider taking PrEP?\",\"answer\":\"Consider PrEP if you are sexually active or inject drugs and you have one or more HIV risk factors, such as inconsistent condom use, multiple partners, a partner with HIV, recent STIs, or sharing injection equipment.\"},{\"question\":\"What care is needed before and during PrEP treatment?\",\"answer\":\"Before starting, providers discuss risks and practices and perform tests, including HIV testing and tests for kidney problems, hepatitis B, and STIs. During PrEP, patients should take medication exactly as prescribed and have visits and/or lab work at least every 3 months.\"}]","PrEP to Prevent HIV - Everything you need to know | PDF",1790555478]