HIV
Book An Appointment
Cross Street Medical Clinic is approved to do HIV Testing by the Ministry of Health Singapore. Cross Street Medical offers all relevant HIV screening tests, PEP and PrEP. Speak to our doctors today about what you may need. Female doctors are available by appointment. We ensure patient privacy and confidentiality for all discussions, tests and treatments.
What is Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)?
PrEPÂ (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) is a treatment for people who do not have HIV. HIV infection is prevented by taking antiretroviral (ART) drugs daily.
PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV if used properly. Daily PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by more than 90%.
If you think you may need to take PrEP, talk to our doctors right away. Cross Street Medical offers PrEP. We ensure patient privacy and confidentiality for all discussions, tests and treatments.
When should we consider PrEP?
PrEPÂ is recommended only for people who are at very high risk of HIV infection.
These include:
- Anyone who is in an ongoing relationship with an HIV-positive partner
- Anyone who is not in a mutually monogamous relationship with a partner and:
- who is either a homosexual or bisexual man who has anal sex without a condom or has been diagnosed with an STD in the past 6 months
- who is a heterosexual man or woman who does not regularly use condoms during sex with high risk partners (e.g., bisexual males, intravenous (IV) drug users)
How do we take PrEP?
PrEP is an oral drug (Truvada). You must take PrEP daily.
PrEP should be taken together with other forms of protection. These include:
- Always using condoms during sex
- Routine HIV testing with partners
- Choosing less risky forms of sex, such as oral sex
The 2014 Guidelines from the Center for Disease Control in the United States recommend the following testing.
| Â | Tests required |
| First visit | Baseline HIV test, creatinine clearance, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, Hepatitis B/C screening |
| 3 months | HIV test, creatinine clearance |
| 6 monthly | HIV test, creatinine clearance, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis |
Does PrEP have side effects?
PrEP is safe:
- It can cause side effects like nausea in some people, but side effects generally subside after a month
- No serious side effects have been observed
- No life threatening side effects have been observed
If you are taking PrEP, tell your doctor about any side effects that are severe or do not go away.
May we take PrEP after exposure to HIV?
PrEPÂ is recommended for people who are at very high risk of HIV exposure.
When there is a single high-risk HIV exposure, such as unprotected sex, sexual assault and sharing needles with a potentially HIV positive person, there is another option:
PEP (post-exposure prophylaxisis)Â an emergency medication that must be started within 72 hours after a recent possible exposure to HIV.
If you want to reduce your risk of HIV infection, speak to our doctors about PEP.