HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Online Course at Coursera Review. Day 13 of 42.
On the thirteenth day of the PrEParing course, Shima, the guy we know already from the first week, sums up the lectures about the present and the future of medications to prevent HIV transmission in a talk with one of the participants in the PrEParing course, Chris.
“Chris, tell me, how did you understand the difference between PrEP and nPEP for preventing HIV transmission?” Shima asks.
“PrEP is a pill that you take every day to protect yourself from HIV transmission if there will be any exposure in the future,” Chris replies.
“Exactly,”
“It’s a pill, and so you should do regular visits with your doctor every three months or once every six months,”
“Every three months,” Shima corrects.
“Yes, every three months.”
“Now, let’s discuss the PEP since the PEP is a combination of tablets, which people who live with HIV usually intake to treat HIV infection, right?”
“Yes,” replies Chris.
“That is, for PEP, you should take this combination of pills for 28 days in case you accidentally exposed to HIV and are afraid of transmission, right?”
“Right, if you think that you had a risk of getting HIV — you take PEP within 28 days.” So you take PrEP before a contact to exclude the risk in the future, and you take the PEP in case you did not take PrEP and exposure to HIV happened. "
“Yes, you are right, but I heard that many people start PrEP after a 28-day course of PEP, and for unprotected anal sex in the receptive position to be safe, it will take seven days of consistent taking PrEP, and for vaginal sex, it will take 21 days. Yeah so, but do you want to talk more about people who transitions from PEP to PrEP?”
“Because in your PEP regimen, PrEP is used, Truvada. It’s one of the medications that is used in PEP. So the transition to PrEP in such cases is quite smooth.”
“Yes, we will only clarify that people who have an increased risk of exposure to HIV need switching from PEP to PrEP,” — supplements Shima
“Yes, this behavior with a high risk of HIV transmission can be the use of intravenous injecting drugs, commercial sex, and other practices.”
“I agree, therefore, PrEP is a way to protect yourself in the future for such people.” Okay, then let’s talk about medicines and new forms of such drugs for PrEP. So what are some of the things you’ve heard of?"
“So the main one that I’ve caught a lot of is the shot, which is PrEP in a needle. So, I think I told you before, it’s not the name, but I was just calling it PrEPo because it’s similar depo. It’s a shot that you would get every three months. And that’s fine, to be able to do the injection every three months and not to take care of the daily intake of the pills. I will also just visit my doctor for check up and making an injection. I will not need to carry tablets with me anymore, set reminders,”- Chris replies
“Definitely.”
“And I’ve heard about absorbing things — studying other drugs for PrEP, not just Truvada. Because Truvada isn’t compatible with everyone’s physiology, and some of the side effects are too aggressive for people who still want to protect themselves from HIV. I also heard about vaginal rings for PrEP combined with birth control, as well as gels and implants. Just different things that accommodate different lifestyles, different anatomies, yeah.”
“Yes, thank you, Chris, I think that the moment when all such stuff will be soon, I thank you that you joined us and shared your experience of the second week of the course. Bye!”
“Bye!”
So, the second week ended. Tomorrow participants of the course on the Coursera platform will have to pass a test. And those who read our reviews in the mobile application for HIV-positive people Life4me+ blog will be offered our questions for the second week of the course. Also, tomorrow we will answer our questions introduced to you in the first week of the course.
If you have not already signed up for the PrEParing course on the Coursera platform — it’s never too late to do it, just go to https://www.coursera.org/learn/prep.
Stay with us and stay healthy!