PEP and PrEP in Bang Tao
If a condom broke last night, or you woke up to a situation you did not plan for, there is medication that can stop HIV taking hold — but only if it starts quickly. PEP and PrEP in Bang Tao are available at any hour of the day or night. PEP must begin within 72 hours of the exposure, and every hour inside that window improves how well it works.
PEP — treatment after an exposure
PEP stands for post-exposure prophylaxis. It is a 28-day course of anti-HIV tablets taken after a possible exposure, and it works by stopping the virus establishing itself in the body while your immune system clears the initial infection.
The rules are simple and genuinely strict. It must start within 72 hours. It works substantially better at six hours than at sixty. And you must complete all 28 days, even once you feel entirely fine, because a course stopped early gives you the side effects without the protection.
When PEP is worth taking
The doctor assesses the actual risk rather than issuing it to everyone who asks. It is usually offered after:
- Condom failure, or no condom, with a partner of unknown status
- Sex with someone known to be HIV positive and not on effective treatment
- Sexual assault
- Sharing injecting equipment
- A needlestick injury
If the risk was genuinely negligible you will be told so honestly rather than sold a month of antiretrovirals you do not need. That conversation is worth having even when the answer is no — most people leave considerably less anxious than they arrived.
PrEP — prevention before exposure
PrEP is the same principle applied in advance. Taken correctly it is highly effective at preventing HIV infection, and it suits people whose circumstances involve ongoing rather than one-off risk.
It requires a negative HIV test before starting, along with kidney function bloods and hepatitis B screening. Those checks are not bureaucracy — starting PrEP while unknowingly HIV positive can cause drug resistance that limits future treatment options, and PrEP drugs also affect hepatitis B, so that has to be known about first.
Follow-up testing continues every three months while you remain on it.
What neither of them protects against
Neither PEP nor PrEP does anything at all about the rest of sexual health. Syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and hepatitis C are entirely unaffected, and rates of those have risen among people relying on PrEP alone and dropping condoms.
We test for the others at the same visit — see STD testing — and repeat that testing during the course. Condoms still matter, and being on PrEP is a reason to test more often rather than less.
Side effects, and finishing the course abroad
Most people tolerate the medication well. Some experience nausea, headache or tiredness in the first week, which usually settles. Taking it with food helps considerably. If vomiting stops you keeping tablets down, contact us rather than skipping doses and hoping.
Many travellers start a course here and fly home part-way through. We supply the full 28 days where possible, plus written documentation of the drug, the dose and the dates, so a doctor at home can take over without restarting anything. Follow-up HIV testing is done at four to six weeks and again at three months after the original exposure.
The conversation itself
People put off coming in for this because they expect judgement, and it is worth saying directly that there will not be any. The doctor needs enough information to assess the risk — roughly when, what kind of contact, and what is known about the other person — and nothing beyond that.
Nobody asks who, nobody comments, and nothing is recorded anywhere outside your own confidential file. Nothing is reported to your hotel, your employer, your travel insurer or your embassy. You can use a first name at reception.
If the exposure involved assault, the doctor can also talk through medical options including emergency contraception and documentation of injuries, at whatever pace suits you, and without any obligation to involve the police unless you want to.
Taking the course while still travelling
Twenty-eight days of tablets is awkward to fit around a holiday, and the practical details are where courses fall apart rather than the medical ones.
Take it at the same time each day and set a phone alarm, because a fortnight of late nights and time-zone changes makes it very easy to lose track. Alcohol does not stop the medication working, though it makes nausea worse in the first week. Keep the tablets with you rather than in a hotel safe you might not be able to reach.
If you are flying home mid-course, carry the medication in hand luggage with the pharmacy label intact, and keep the written documentation with it. Hold luggage goes missing and a fortnight without doses wastes the entire course. If you do miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember and carry on — do not double up, and do not stop because you missed one.
Frequently asked questions
How quickly do I need to start PEP?
Within 72 hours, and as close to immediately as you can manage. At 70 hours it is still worth starting. After 72 hours it is no longer effective, so do not spend a day thinking it over.
How much does PEP cost?
You are paying for a 28-day course of antiretroviral medication plus baseline blood tests, so it is one of the more expensive treatments we provide. The full cost is explained before you commit to anything.
Can I get it in the middle of the night?
Yes. We are open 24 hours precisely because this is a treatment where the clock genuinely matters. Come in rather than waiting for morning.
Will anyone be told?
No. Treatment is confidential and nothing is reported to your hotel, insurer, employer or embassy.
Can a doctor bring it to my hotel?
The first assessment involves blood tests and is better done at the clinic, but a doctor hotel visit can handle follow-up reviews in your room.
Can I take PrEP for just a short trip?
Yes — event-based and short-course PrEP are both recognised approaches for defined periods of risk. It still needs the baseline tests first, so allow a little time rather than arriving the night before.
Come in, or we come to you
Take Care Medical Clinic Bang Tao is open open 24 hours, 7 days a week on Bandon Road in Cherng Talay, a few minutes from Bang Tao Beach and Laguna Phuket. Walk in without an appointment, call +66 81 718 9080, or message us on WhatsApp. If you would rather not move, ask for a doctor hotel visit and we will come to your room.