Question
I am taking PEP, can I have uprotected sex?
14 February 2012. Related: All topics, PEP/PEPSE.
I’ve been taking lamzid for 5 days now and I want to find out how this will
affect my pregnant partner when we have unprotected sex?
I am taking lamzid because I slept with someone without a condom and I felt
very unsafe so I went to the doctor within 72 hours and he prescribed lamzid for me.
My pregnant partner is only 7weeks pregnant will this harm our baby?
Answer
There is no data on whether PEP can harm the unborn baby. However, unprotected sex whilst you are taking PEP is not recommended. This is because you don’t know your status and you could infect your partner. That is why it is important to wait until you finish the course and have done the follow-up confirmatory test.
For more information on PEP and the risks of sexual transmission, please follow this link to our guide.
Best wishes
Hi Chanty,
It’s not easy to predict your risk because there are many things that can affect it. This guide to risk of transmission shows how things can be related.
Please see this Q&A about PEP. So unfortunately it’s not possible to predict your chances.
I am HIV negative and had unprotected sex with someone who is HIV positive but she did not know. She had an appointment with a doctor before and the doctor took her blood sample. The day she left my place the doctor called her for the results, only she found she is HIV positive. She informed me and I went to see the doctor too, who recommended odimune drug form me. I want to know what are the chances that I may survive the virus because by the time I started PEP it was 69 hours after unprotected sex.. Thanks in advance
Hi Kirsty,
What ARVs are you taking?
However, the good news is that all ARV combinations (ART) start working from the first dose. And your viral load is usually reduced by 90% within the first few days. Viral load results can get to undetectable in the first 3 months. But this can depend on how high your viral load was on starting ART.
Staying undetectable means there’s no risk of transmission if you don’t use condoms.
So although it’s not possible to say there’s zero risk, the risk of HIV has already been dramatically reduced at 3 months.
It would be good to know if you are already undetectable. Do you have access to your viral load results? What does the doctor say about this?
i have been on ARV for 3months and i had unprotected sex with someone how safe is that person, will they get infected?
Hi Double tt,
PEP usually means taking 3 drugs a day. But some PEP treatment can be 3 drugs in just 1 pill. Please ask your friend to read the info to find out what drugs are in the pills.
Hello….my friend had unprotected sex ..she went to the hospital and was given peps…i have read that one should take 3 drugs a day….she was told to take 1 per day….am confused
Hi Juliana,
I’m a bit confused, sorry. You were not taking PEP when you had the second exposure so it wouldn’t have slowed infection from the first exposure. But you started PEP less than 24 hours after the second exposure, so that’s good as it follows the guidelines for a single exposure.
Here’s a link to the window periods for HIV tests.
Hi, I had unprotected sex with someone positive, never took pep and after 6 weeks I tested negative. And after a week I was drunk and did the same with someone I don’t know the status. For this one I started taking PEP for as early as less 24hrs and I’ve just finished. Now my question is can pep affect the window period? Do I have to postpone the three month window period of the first exposure or I should trust the result exactly after three months of the first exposure when I had pep in between? Please I need help on this one I’m confused.
Hi Mujuni,
Another HIV test should be done 28 days after finishing your PEP. Is that what you meant? Did you do this? A test after 28 days can pick up 95% of HIV infections.
It’s not recommended to have condomless sex until having a test to confirm PEP has worked.
Hello
Taking pep for 28days now I tested and I’m negative is it OK for me to unprotected sex with my partner? I didn’t have any sex since I started pep