PRIME THIS MONTH

A new kind of PEP against Syphilis and Chlamydia

PEP is short for ‘post exposure prophylaxis’. It involves taking a drug treatment after sex to reduce the chance of catching an infection. (e.g. In ‘HIV PEP’ antiretroviral drugs are given after unprotected anal sex to protect against HIV infection).

‘DoxyPEP’ involves taking a ‘one off’ treatment of the antibiotic doxycycline. (A 200mg dose within 72 hours of sex). In the study people using the treatment were 80% less likely to get chlamydia or syphilis. The treatment had a smaller effect on gonorrhea.

Some people worry that using doxycycline for PEP might increase antibiotic resistance or affect the balance of healthy bacteria in your gut. Others argue that this is unlikely to be an issue because doxycycline is already given to people for long periods of time without it causing any problems. (e.g. Acne treatment).

‘DoxyPEP’ is not available on the NHS. When we last asked, 8% of PRIME users were using it. Many reported buying doxycycline through the online pharmacies listed on ‘I want PrEP now’ https://www.iwantprepnow.co.uk/buy-prep-now/

Take our survey

Would you be interested if Dean Street offered ‘Bexsero’ vaccine through ‘additional private care’? We want to know what you think about ‘DoxyPEP’. Take our 60 second survey.

¹ DoxyPEP and Meningococcal Vax Keep Protecting MSM PrEP Users From STIs (natap.org)