Non-occupational post exposure prevention

When you think you were exposed to HIV within the past three days

May 2007     View PDF     En español

What are the reasons to not use nPEP?

The reason to choose nPEP is the hope that using anti-HIV drugs within 72 hours of an exposure to HIV might block the establishment of HIV infection. The following is a list of reasons why you might choose not to use nPEP, despite having a high-risk exposure.

ONE …
If you have repeated high-risk exposures to HIV and can be expected to continue doing so, nPEP is generally discouraged. In this setting, side effects of anti-HIV therapies could be hard on your body, weaken your natural immune defenses and actually increase your risk of infection from repeated exposures.

TWO …
All anti-HIV therapies have possible side effects. Some, like nausea, are at their worst during the first few weeks of use. Whether or not you will have these side effects is unknown, but it’s wise to assume that this may happen. If you are not prepared to manage or put up with them, you may choose not to use nPEP.

THREE …
If you don’t think you can take the drugs routinely or have a great deal of anxiety about taking the drugs for the recommended 28 days, you might be better off not using nPEP. If you are in fact infected with HIV, taking the medications haphazardly and not strictly adhering to the prescribed regimen will almost certainly not work and could have negative long-term consequences for your future HIV treatment options.