PrEP is prescribed to anyone who meets the eligibility criteria, as assessed by a sexual health doctor.

You must be:

• Aged 16 or over.
• Have a confirmed HIV negative test in a sexual health clinic.
• Able to attend for regular 3 month reviews.
• Willing to stop taking PrEP when no longer eligible.
• Resident in Scotland.

Plus, fulfil one or more of the following criteria: 

• Current sexual partner, irrespective of gender, of people who are HIV positive with a detectable viral load.
• Men who have sex with men* and transgender women with a documented bacterial rectal STI in the last 12 months.
• Men who have sex with men* and transgender women reporting condomless penetrative anal sex with two or more partners in the last 12 months and likely to do so again in the next three months.        
• Individuals, irrespective of gender, at an equivalent high risk of HIV acquisition, as agreed with another specialist clinician.

         *Includes transgender men

"Pre-exposure" means before sex and "prophylaxis" means to prevent infection.

PrEP is a combination of two medicines (tenofovir disoproxil and emtricitabine) taken as one pill. It prevents HIV infection by stopping HIV genes from getting into Human DNA. PrEP needs to be taken regularly and consistently to keep the level of drug high enough to prevent infection.

If you think that PrEP might be right for you, ask at any one of our clinics and we will give you information and ask if you want to arrange a follow up appointment.

Alternatively, you can book an appointment using our online booking system to come in and speak to us about starting PrEP.

You will be sent a SMS when your follow up appointment is due. Appointments will normally be every 3-6 months. 

If you are taking PrEP you have bought online and would like to discuss your individual situation with our clinical team please contact us on 0141 211 8130. We are very happy to talk to you about monitoring your PrEP use and your sexual health.

If your circumstances change, you may wish to stop PrEP. How to safely stop depends on how you are taking PrEP and what you are taking PrEP for.

If you are daily dosing, you should carry on taking PrEP for seven sex-free days. This includes when PrEP is being taken for vaginal/frontal protection. The exception to this is if you are a cis man* using daily PrEP for only anal sex protection (top or bottom) and no vaginal/frontal sex, when you can stop after 2 sex-free days.  

If you are using “on-demand”, 2-1-1 or event based dosing (EBD), you can stop after 2 sex-free days (i.e. after your last dose).  

If you want to ask more questions about stopping PrEP, you can do this at your appointment.  

*Cis man refers to anyone who was assigned male at birth and who still identifies as a man.

If you're a cis man* using PrEP for only anal sex protection (top or bottom) and no vaginal/frontal sex, you should take a double dose 2-24 hours before sex. You can then continue with either daily dosing or event based dosing.  

Everyone else should take daily doses for seven days before sex. This includes for vaginal/frontal protection.  

If you are starting PrEP again having been off it for a while and you have not had unprotected anal or vaginal/frontal sex since stopping then it's okay to start taking it again as usual using the rules above. Otherwise you should make an appointment with us before starting again.  

*Cis man refers to anyone who was assigned male at birth and who still identifies as a man