2 GUIDES
Prevention medicines
Learn the difference between prevention before and after a possible exposure.
OPTIONS THAT FIT REAL LIFE
Build an HIV prevention plan that works for you.
Compare medicines, condoms, STI care, partner planning, and other practical prevention options.
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EXPLORE THIS TOPIC
Choose the question closest to yours.
Each category opens into focused guides, with related care and next steps on every page.
FAST FACTS
Prevention: the essentials
Verified, plain-language facts to ground the rest of this section.
PrEP
Taken before exposure, it greatly lowers the chance of getting HIV.
72h
PEP is emergency prevention and must start within 72 hours.
U=U
Treatment with an undetectable viral load prevents sexual transmission.
HIV PREVENTION AT A GLANCE
Choose prevention tools that fit your life.
PrEP, PEP, condoms, testing, sterile equipment, and HIV treatment can be used alone or together as your needs change.
- 01 · PLAN AHEADAsk whether PrEP fits your needs
PrEP is highly effective at preventing HIV from sex or injection drug use when taken as prescribed.
- 02 · ACT QUICKLYStart PEP within 72 hours
After a possible exposure, contact a health care provider or urgent service right away—the sooner, the better.
- 03 · USE EVERYDAY OPTIONSCombine protection and testing
Condoms, lubricant, and regular HIV and STI testing can be practical parts of a prevention plan.
- 04 · TREATMENT PREVENTSUndetectable means no sexual transmission
People with HIV who maintain an undetectable viral load do not transmit HIV to sexual partners.
If you inject drugs, use new, clean syringes and equipment every time and never share them with another person.
Source: CDC HIV PreventionVISUAL SUMMARY
How Prevention is organized
Use this map to choose a category, open a focused guide, and continue to a practical next step.
Prevention medicines
Learn the difference between prevention before and after a possible exposure.
Everyday prevention options
Combine the tools that fit your needs, relationships, and circumstances.
Partners and family planning
Make prevention decisions together, with facts and respect for each person's choices.
This visual is a guide to the page—not a personal diagnosis or treatment recommendation.
3 GUIDES
Everyday prevention options
Combine the tools that fit your needs, relationships, and circumstances.
3 GUIDES
Partners and family planning
Make prevention decisions together, with facts and respect for each person's choices.
DETAILED GUIDE
A quick guide to Prevention
What Prevention means for you
Compare medicines, condoms, STI care, partner planning, and other practical prevention options. That short answer is the place to begin; what matters next is how it fits your situation—your reason for reading, the timing of any event, and the support you can reach. Treat this guide as a map: it can help you prepare and ask better questions, while a qualified health professional applies the details to you.
The essentials for Prevention
Prevention combines tools: PrEP before a possible exposure, PEP as an emergency within 72 hours, condoms with compatible lubricant, sterile injection equipment, and testing. Someone on treatment with an undetectable viral load does not pass HIV on through sex (U=U). Each option has its own follow-up, and a clinician can help combine them—one method does not have to replace the others.
Turn it into one next step
You do not need perfect medical words. Note any relevant dates, test names, or medicines, then choose one manageable action. For this page, a useful next step is start the first prevention guide—a suggestion, not a rule. If it feels too big, make it smaller: save a phone number, check opening hours, or tell someone you trust. The plan can change as a result or new information arrives.