Question
Is my partner at risk when I am on PEP – or afterwards?
20 December 2022. Related: All topics, HIV testing, HIV transmission, PEP/PEPSE.
I had sex with a random person and the condom broke few minutes before he came. We went for an Elisa Test and his results were positive. I started taking pep 28 hours after exposure and I have been taking it for 20 days now.
During this 20 days, I have been having sex with my boyfriend since day one because I couldn’t find a reason to give for not having live intercourse as saying the truth could have costed me the relationship. Could he be sick? Could I have infected him?
Answer
Hi there
How is your random casual partner doing?
How did they react to finding out they are HIV positive?
Do they have support including access to treatment?
Although you are worrying about a small chance of being positive, this person is dealing with this for real. i-Base is a service for people living with HIV so I worry about them.
Having said this, it is really good that you started PEP. This will dramatically reduce the risk that you become positive. PEP will protect your boyfriend while you are taking it, even if you are unlucky and do become HIV positive.
This is because PEP often delays seroconversion in the rare cases when it doesn’t work. It is also why you need to wait for 6 weeks after the last PEP dose to take an HIV test.
This will give you more time to decide what to do when the PEP is finished.
This is because your boyfriend will be at risk if you have sex without condoms if you do become HIV positive. Here are a few options.
- You could either make up reasons why you do not want to have sex, or make up reasons to use condoms. This could include that you don’t feel like penetrative sex, have other types of sex instead, or say you have a fungal infection (this is not an STI). None of these explanations are likely to sound convincing if you are normally used to having sex without condoms.
- Another option is to find a way to talk about what really happened. This is also not easy, even though it should be. Sometimes this can end a relationship or raise issues of trust just because of one small incident that is not otherwise important.
- The third option, also common and perhaps the thing most people do, is to say nothing and hope everything will be ok. In most cases it will be. If you pick this last option, try to reduce the times you have sex until you get the test results.
Whatever you decide to do, I hope everything works out well.
In reading the answer, please remember that HIV is not an easy virus to catch. Even though it only takes one exposure, the risk from a single exposure is usually much lower than 1%. This compares to much higher risks if you have another STI where the risk of transmission might be more than 80%.
If you are unlucky though and do become HIV positive, then your boyfriend will be at much higher risk during the first few months when viral load is very high. Getting an undetectable viral load on HIV treatment will bring this risk down to zero.
i-Base doesn’t usually post questions about transmission online, but we often get this question. We are answering it now because it is a difficult situation that isn’t often discussed.
Hi Taku, while on PEP there is no risk to your partner. PEP will prevent any risk of transmission to them. If you remain worried it is recommended to use a condom until you can confirm your status.
More information about PEP can be found here: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq
I had sex on day 6 of pep unprotected with my partner she’s free from Sti and aids but I’m just worried
Hi Bridget, your partner is not at risk.
While taking treatment, PEP will either mean there is no HIV present or if there is, PEP will suppress it so much that it cannot be passed on via sex.
After finishing PEP and before you are able to test it is recommended that you abstain from sex/use a condom. You will be unsure of your status during this time.
More information about PEP: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq
Hey,am a lady … yesterday i was on my 11th day of pep and had uprotected sex with my boyfriend
What are the chances of infecting him
Hi Aa, this page has info on PEP:
https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq
Hi am A.a, I got a needle injury with a positive hiv person,I went home and had un protected sex with my wife and the following day I started taking pep and finished 28days while having un protected sex normally,my qn,can I effect my partner???
Hi Ropa, there is no further risk of transmission. Being on PEP means you are protected from further exposures while on the course of treatment. You can finish your course of PEP when originally planned.
More information about PEP can be found here: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq
So, I had an unprotected sex with a lady, and I went for peps, while taking the pep I had unprotected sex with the same lady.
This is my quiz…. what will happen? I am so stressed.
Hi Dan, please see this link: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/hiv-transmission-and-testing
I had unprotected receptive anal sex with someone, I don’t think they ejaculated because I wasn’t aware of anything. I didnt know who they was, and very likely they have multiple partners. It was a one off, and I had never done it before. Around 8 hours later, I stupidly had sex with my partner. It was only after the act, that my head started running through a million awful scenarios, and have been sick with worry for her since. I broke things off, and said we needed a break. Because I couldnt bare to tell her or risk transmitting it to her if it happened again. We are both so upset and apart and I just dont know what to do. It has just been heartbreaking. I started PEP 55 hours after the exposure, and have about 20 days until I can get tested. I know that I was negative before this all happened, because my partner and I had recently been tested. I did at least have a shower between. I’ve been reading articles ever since, to see if there is anyway I could have been infectious in such a short space of time? Is it even likely that it could have been transmitted within 8 hours of exposure?