What is PrEP?
PrEP is a drug taken by HIV-negative people before and after sex that reduces the risk of getting HIV.
The medication used for PrEP is a tablet which contains tenofovir and emtricitabine, which are drugs commonly used to treat HIV. Taking these drugs means that there is enough of the medication in your system to block HIV if it gets into your body.
Although PrEP protects against HIV, it doesn’t protect you from other sexually transmitted infections.
It’s best to use PrEP as well as condoms, to help prevent HIV as well as other STIs.
You can find out more about PrEP on the Terrence Higgins Trust website.
Where can I get PrEP?
PrEP is available free on the NHS in England from sexual health clinics.
Call our team on 0808 178 0955 (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and Telford & Wrekin) or 0300 404 2996 (Shropshire) to ask for further information about PrEP. You can see a list of our sexual health clinics on our Clinics page, although some smaller clinics may not offer PrEP services.
Should I take PrEP?
You may benefit from taking PrEP if:
- you’re a HIV-negative man having condomless sex with men, and other people who have sex within these networks
- you have a partner (or ex-partner) with HIV who is not yet on medication or not taking medication reliably
- your partner (or ex-partner) comes from a country with high rates of HIV
- you have condomless sex with a partner(s) and do not know their HIV status
- you’re a trans or non-binary person and are regularly having condomless sex
- you exchange sex for money, drugs, shelter or another reason
- you are injecting drugs