Prophylaxis means disease prevention. These medications are only available with a prescription.
Workers start taking medications within a few hours of exposure.
However, some health care workers who take PEP still get HIV infection. People can be exposed to HIV during unsafe sexual activity, when a condom breaks during sex, or if they share needles for injecting drugs. Infants can be exposed if they drink breast milk from an infected woman. No research has been done on how well PEP works for exposure to HIV outside the workplace. HIV exposure at work is usually a one-time accident.