Articles

Plain-language guides to sexual health and getting care. We explain how things work; we don’t give medical advice.

• PEP vs PrEP vs DoxyPEP: what's the difference?

  PrEP prevents HIV before exposure. PEP prevents HIV after exposure. DoxyPEP lowers the risk of some bacterial STIs after sex. One table explains all three.

• Seven questions to ask a sexual health clinic abroad before you go

  Finding a clinic's name is the easy part. These questions decide whether you, as a visitor, will actually be seen, and what it will cost.

• What counts as an HIV risk, and what doesn't?

  HIV is harder to catch than most people fear. A calm, factual guide to what is a real risk, what isn't, when to test, and what to do next.

• What does U=U mean? Undetectable = Untransmittable, explained

  U=U means a person with HIV on treatment with an undetectable viral load cannot pass HIV on through sex. The risk is zero. Here is what that means in practice.

• What is DoxyPEP? The antibiotic taken after sex to prevent STIs

  DoxyPEP is one dose of the antibiotic doxycycline within 72 hours after sex. Trials show it cuts syphilis and chlamydia by over 70%. Who it's for and how to take it.

• What is PEP? The 72-hour HIV emergency medicine, explained

  PEP is a 28-day course of HIV medicine that can prevent infection after a possible exposure, if started within 72 hours. Who it's for and how to get it abroad.

• What is PrEP? Daily pills, on-demand dosing and injections, explained

  PrEP is medicine people without HIV take to prevent it: a daily pill, on-demand dosing around sex, or long-acting injections. How each works and who prescribes it.

• Free, cheap or expensive: what visitors pay for HIV and STI tests

  Whether a traveller pays nothing or a few hundred dollars depends on the country and the clinic. What official sources and clinic price lists said when we checked.