PrEP
What is PrEP?
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is a medication that can prevent someone from acquiring HIV through sex without a condom. PrEP is taken by people who do not have HIV and can be taken by anyone regardless of their gender or sexuality. PrEP contains doses of two common HIV medications.
If you are exposed to HIV, PrEP prevents HIV from entering your body’s cells and reproducing. This stops HIV from establishing itself in your body and stops the HIV infection from taking place.
Most people take PrEP orally every day (daily dosing), and some people take PrEP when they know they are going to have sex without a condom. See advice below about starting and stopping PrEP.
How can I get PrEP?
In the UK, oral PrEP is free and typically available to 16 + year olds through National Health Service (NHS) sexual health services.
In Leicester City, PrEP is available from Leicester Sexual Health and our partnership clinics for LGBTQ+ people – CLINIC xtra and PrEP CLINIC, which are run from the Trade office.
If you are a heterosexual cisgender person, please access PrEP from Leicester Sexual Health.
In Leicestershire and Rutland, PrEP is available from Leicestershire and Rutland Sexual Health. If you live in the county and identify as LGBTQ+, you can access PrEP via our CLINIC xtra and .
PrEP can also be accessed privately in the UK, but you will incur a cost for the PrEP medication, and some of these services may also charge you additionally for repeat HIV/STI testing.
PrEP CLINIC
For people who are starting PrEP for the first time (or who have moved to Leicester and Leicestershire and are seeking a prescription locally for the first time).
Make a bookingCLINIC xtra
For people who are starting PrEP for the first time and for people who are already taking PrEP.
Make a bookingRequirements to start PrEP?
PrEP should not be used by someone who already has HIV. To qualify for PrEP, you must access a negative HIV result from an NHS sexual health service or an official affiliated NHS testing service, such as a finger-prick self-sampling testing kit, which is posted to a lab to determine an HIV result. To get PrEP, you would have to obtain a negative HIV result within the last four weeks.
It is general practice for PrEP to be given out once a negative HIV result is determined; however, on some occasions, PrEP can be given out by a specialist doctor even without a negative HIV result.
Visit our Sexual Health and STIs page for access to HIV testing.
How to take PrEP?
Some people take PrEP every day, but many people START, STOP and RE-START taking PrEP.
This could be due to being in or out of a relationship, the amount of sex you are having, or because you are going on holiday or to an event, where you know PrEP would benefit you due to the amount and/or types of sex you are planning to have.
For PrEP to work, there must be enough of the PrEP medication in your blood to protect you against acquiring HIV. It is essential to take the correct dosage as advised by a health care professional. This is usually a doctor, nurse, or a sexual health professional.
UK guidance has recently changed, making it easier for everyone to start and stop taking oral PrEP. Due to this change, the language and terms may differ from what you’ve heard previously.
START
To start PREP
Take TWO oral PrEP pills between 2 and 24 hours BEFORE sex. Then continue to take ONE pill every day until stopping PrEP (see below).
STOP
To stop PrEP
If you are using oral PrEP for HIV prevention during receptive frontal/vaginal (including neovaginal) sex, then take a single dose of PrEP EVERY day for SEVEN sex-free days after the last sex event. It is then safe to stop.
If you are using oral PrEP for HIV prevention for ANY other kind of sex (including insertive vaginal sex or insertive and receptive anal sex) continue taking PrEP for another TWO sex-free days. So, if you last had sex on Saturday, take PrEP on Sunday and Monday. It is then safe to stop.
RESTART
To restart PrEP
If you’ve not had sex without a condom since stopping oral PrEP, then it is OK to restart PrEP as usual. As with the starting PrEP information above, you can take a DOUBLE dose of PrEP (i.e. two tablets) 2 to 24 hours BEFORE sex. You can then continue with ONE dose a day until you’re ready to stop (see above for stopping information). It is really important to take the AFTER sex doses, as well as the ones before sex!
If you’ve had sex SINCE stopping PrEP, and that sex involved a possible exposure to HIV (i.e. sex without a condom), it is strongly recommended to have an HIV test BEFORE or at the same time as re-starting PrEP.
Next steps to continue getting PrEP
It is important to be aware that PrEP can ONLY prevent you from acquiring HIV if it is taken correctly – as explained above. If you are engaging in sexual activities without a condom, you could be exposed to and at risk of other STIs. Therefore, regular STI and HIV testing is essential when taking PrEP. You can access STI and HIV testing via our STI testing services.
People who are starting oral PrEP for the first time are usually given 3 bottles of PrEP, each bottle typically contains 30 pills. 30 pills are a one-month supply for someone taking PrEP daily.
To continue being supplied with PrEP, you must obtain a negative HIV result from an NHS or an affiliated sexual health service each time you refill your prescription. A negative HIV result will be valid for 4 weeks, for you to get more PrEP.
It is important to be aware of how many PrEP pills you have left. We recommend you book an HIV test when you’re starting your last bottle of PrEP. Once you obtain a negative HIV result from testing, book into our CLINIC xtra service to get more PrEP.
If you have any questions about PrEP, get in touch with the Prevention Team at Trade. We’re happy to talk through your options and explain anything that’s unclear.
To get PrEP, scroll up to the How can I get PrEP section.