WHERE TO GET HIV PEP TREATMENT IN VIETNAM?

Emergency PEP in Vietnam

Condom broke? Slipped off? Drunk? Not sure about condom?

If you have had a high risk exposure to HIV in the last 72 hours. It must be started within 72 hours after a possible exposure to HIV.

It is most effective when started within 24 hours, the sooner someone starts PEP the better prevention.

Factors that can increase the risk of HIV infection and you are a potential candidate for PEP due to:

The partner is known to be HIV positive AND is not on treatment.
Anal sex with penetration without condom
Vaginal sex without condom
Condom break
Presence of blood
Presence of cuts or ulcers
You are not circumcised
You have been exposed to potentially HIV infected body fluids
Your exposure was less then 72 hours ago
Partner of unknown HIV status who belong to higher risk HIV group (e.g. MSM or from africa or S.E.Asia)
They penetrated you (Their penis, your arse) AND you don't know for sure whether they have HIV or not.

However, if you are unable to access PEP within the 72 hours, even if it has been up to 5-7 days since the exposure occurred, it is still worth seeking medical advice to see what your options are. This may include commencing a 3-drug combination of antiretroviral medications as soon as possible just in case you have become HIV positive. In this case, you would be starting very early treatment and minimising the damage to your immune system.

HOW DOES PEP WORK?

It takes a few days for HIV to become established in the body following exposure. Once it is established you will have HIV for the rest of your life. However, if you begin taking PEP in time, the anti-HIV drugs will prevent the HIV (that's already in your body) from reproducing and it DIES out before it has a chance to multiply. PEP drugs given at this time may help the body’s immune system to stop the virus from replicating (multiplying) in the infected cells of the body. The cells originally infected would then die naturally within a short period of time without producing more copies of HIV.

BUT IF THE HIV VIRUS IS ALREADY IN THE BODY, ISN’T IT TOO LATE?

Not if you act quickly. After HIV gets in the bloodstream it takes some time before it permanently establishes itself in the body. If a person who has been exposed to HIV acts quickly to get PEP (within 72 hours) they stand a good chance of stopping the virus from establishing itself in their body.

SO, IF I TAKE PEP I WON’T BECOME HIV POSITIVE?

Research indicates that taking PEP makes infection with HIV a lot less likely. But PEP doesn’t work every time – some people who take it still end up with HIV afterwards. It can fail because:

- the person doesn’t or isn’t able to take PEP as prescribed (every day for a month)

- some anti-HIV drugs don’t work against some strains of HIV (HIV drug resistant, although this is rare)*

- the initial viral load (the amount of HIV) in the body was too great for the drugs to be effective**

However, the sooner PEP treatment is begun after exposure to the virus, the more likely it is to work.

Go to Hồng Nhung pharmacy to get HIV PEP treatment right now.