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 Ritah, do you know how low your partners viral load is? If it is below 200/undetectable there is no risk of transmission. This would mean you would not need to be on PrEP/PEP or use a condom.
This is because treatment is working so well that HIV is suppressed too low for transmission. This is called U=U: https://i-base.info/u-equals-u/
Hello doc I have a question please i finished pep becoz I was exposed then after completing pep 28 days I got prep coz my pattern is hiv positive but the hiv is suppressed should I continue pep or prep while am still with him without transmitting me ..but we always have live sex
Hi Anonymous, please see here for more information: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq
While on PEP it is recommended that you do not have sex with other people. This is because you are unsure of your own status. If you do, using a condom will prevent any risk of transmission.
Because you are on PEP, it means that any risk of transmission is very small and your partner does not need to be on PEP themselves. But for the duration of the time you’re on PEP if you are having sex use a condom.
Hi, I slept with someone I don’t know his status and I went straight to the clinic the next day and started with PEP, I used PEP for 4 days and slept with my partner who is HIV negative, is it possible that i might have infected him while I’m on PEP?
Hi Lanesra, you do not need to extend the course of PEP. You can finish when originally planned after the first exposure.
As you had been taking PEP already when you had the second exposure, it will have acted like PrEP and prevented secondary exposures. You do not need to increase the dose either.
As you are on PEP and started treatment so soon, your symptoms are very unlikely to be HIV – seroconversion most commonly occurs after PEP. Being on PEP will not prevent other common infections like the cold and it is possible that stress can also cause this.
You can test as early as 6 weeks after the last dose of PEP using a 4th generation antigen/antibody test. This result will be conclusive.
PEP: https://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/pep-faq
Hi. I had unprotected sexual intercourse with a woman that is HIV positive and not on treatment. She saw fit to tell me after.
I am negative and I was prescribed Vulante at ICU to take as PEP and this was about 6hrs after exposure.
I have been taking the pills as prescribed at roughly the same time everyday. The issue is, after about 12 days into it, I had further exposure with the same girl where the condom broke and I came inside her (which further complicates the matter as far as exchange of juices goes).
Upon convincing, she went to the doctor (and refused for us to go together) but she’s said to have a high viral load.
Do I need to increase the dosage and get further medication and extend the PEP treatment? And if it so happens that I start seroconverting (I am experiencing all the common symptoms) as I am reaching the end of the treatment (8 days left!), what type of HIV test will be able to pick up or detect this?
I have also kept to treatment but I am having incredibly severe symptoms and so I need to also know the minimum of days that I can stay on treatment, if I can’t do another 28days. Please advise.
Hi Sunny, are you taking about PrEP or PEP? Was your exposure before or after you started taking this treatment?
If it was before and you have been taking PrEP, you can stop 2 days after the exposure.
If you only started treatment after which is PEP you will need a course for 28 days.
Thank you for your response Dr Peasegood. It’s greatly appreciated.
So I have another question, The internet is filled with many different answers on when to stop prep after the last exposure. Some websites say 2 days after last exposure, Some say 7-10 days, some say 28 days. My prep dosage ends 22 days from the exposure I explained, so I was wondering should I get some more prep so I can reach the 28 day mark? or am i fine with stopping prep 22 days post exposure?
Thank you very much and I look forward to your response.
Sunny
Hi Sunny, this is not a risk for transmission. You do not need to be freaking out.
As there was no blood, this broken skin will not have been deep enough for blood transmission.
Not knowing the status of your partner more likely means that she was HIV negative. The risk is even further reduced by being on PrEP. The 6 days you had taken will have been able to build significant protection against transmission.
Hi there,
I hope you are well. On day 6 of taking prep (Adco Emtevir), I had sex with a condom with a woman whose hiv status is unknown as well as receiving bare oral sex. Condom and oral sex aside, I fingered her, not very deep, but afterwards i realized that my finger had broken skin. Not broken enough for blood to come out, but still broken. For the past 2 weeks i have been freaking out. What is my risk for HIV exposure?