The HIV Morning-After Pill
May. 19th, 2008 02:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moominmuppetA monthlong regimen known as post-exposure prophylaxis treatment (pep)—usually given to health care workers who have been stuck with needles—was available at local clinics and emergency rooms to people who had recently been exposed to hiv. The side effects of debilitating nausea and fatigue were a small price to pay for its potential benefits: A study of health care workers published in the New England Journal of Medicine linked the rapid administration of the drug to an 81 percent decrease in the risk of contracting the virus.
Knowledge is power, people. If you know it exists, and you find yourself needing it, at least you'll know to look for access... (this is what happened with my experience with Plan B, years before most people knew about it -- I'm just glad I happened to be doing activism that alerted me to its existence).
Admittedly, this is hella-expensive, and hard to find. And risks of infection from any one instance of intercourse are still pretty low. But there are times and situations where that price tag is totally worth it.
Knowledge is power, people. If you know it exists, and you find yourself needing it, at least you'll know to look for access... (this is what happened with my experience with Plan B, years before most people knew about it -- I'm just glad I happened to be doing activism that alerted me to its existence).
Admittedly, this is hella-expensive, and hard to find. And risks of infection from any one instance of intercourse are still pretty low. But there are times and situations where that price tag is totally worth it.
