I have been toying the idea of getting myself into taking PreP. Recently, the news pages were constantly posting about the HIV diagnosis amongst the university students contributes highest to the statistic in the country. Those individuals who aged between 18 and 25 are the riskiest age group in contracting HIV due to unprotected GAY sex - emphasizing the "gay" word, perpetually becoming the main culprit in contributing to the growing cases of infection. I am not surprised by the fact that most infected individuals are largely made up of Malays, as most of them have no knowledge about having safe sex and buying condom from a convenient shop is deemed as a sin. The news about it somehow fearmongering me into considering taking PreP.
Nowadays, HIV and STI testing outreach has been far more proactive in providing free testing than those time I was in college, where getting tested for HIV has to be done in private clinic for a fee.
Now, these outreaches are giving out free testing at several local hotspots and providing treatment for those infected at a lower cost or zero cost. I have been getting tested for HIV by ordering the testkit online from the legit NGO, and then it's sent to me 2 days later. All procedures are free of charge. Even getting PreP is free from the government clinic, but you would have to go through several stages of interview and testing before you can obtain it. Since PreP has been readily available in the market, the cost itself has become very affordable. Some of my tops got it for RM100 per bottle from private clinic. Today, I asked a clinic near my place, it costs RM75 per bottle. I was legit surprised by the affordability where it encourages those sexually active people to uptake PreP for safety precaution. I am actually proud that the government is taking initiative to promote PreP as preventative measure in combating HIV amongst the youngsters and provide free and easy access to get them.
I am still contemplating about it since I only have frequent bareback sex with 2 tops whom they also take PreP diligently. RM75 is not that expensive, but do I really need it? Unless I intend to have bareback sex with every guy I come across with, then most likely I would uptake it as soon as I can. We'll see.
Excuse my ignorance, if the top is taking Prep then you are protected? This is an interesting question, I would also research the side effects. I've heard there is some effect on the liver.
ReplyDeleteSo surprising that there continue to be more HIV infections. Seems like most guys online are on prep. If someone is positive, then they must be talking anti-virals that reduce virus count to zero making them non-transmissible.
Generally, yes. In order to take prep u would have to be HIV-negative. So testing is required everytime you get the meds. But it does not protect yourself from STD. Therefore, sex with condom is still highly recommended. If either one party is taking prep, basically both are protecting against each other. Not sure about the side effect, even if it does, it make no sense to encourage men to partake the course of meds knowing it would have side effect in the long run.
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