TREATMENTS
There is no single treatment for all STIs.
Each has its own treatment, and some even have preventive treatment(s).
TREATMENTS
Following your treatment once you've been diagnosed with an STI is the only effective way to get rid of it. It's important to follow your treatment assiduously and to the end, and above all not to treat yourself alone: each STI has its own treatment.
Depending on the STI(s) to be treated, treatment can be :
- Creams or ointments,
- antibiotics
- antivirals
- minor surgery with lazer or cryotherapy
- antiretrovirals such as triple therapy.
PREVENTIVE TREATMENTS
- PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis)
The PrEP is an oral preventive treatment against the HIV virus. It is available to people most at risk of exposure to HIV, namely :
- men who have sex with men (MSM) and their partners
- trans* people and their partners
- people from countries with high HIV prevalence (sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, etc.) and their partners
- sex workers exposed to unprotected sex and their partners
- intravenous drug users and their partners.
Talk to a specialist centeron www.myprep.be or on www.exaequo.be
- Post-exposure treatment (PET)
For people most at risk of HIV: within 48 hours (72 hours MAXIMUM) after a high-risk and unprotected sexual encounter (sexual assault, intercourse between men, intercourse with a person from a country heavily affected by HIV, etc.), it is possible to go to the emergency room of a hospital specialising in HIV to request an EPCT, which can still prevent a possible contamination with HIV/AIDS. It is best to go as soon as possible. The treatment is always free of charge, but the follow-up is charged and reimbursed by the health insurance companies. The VCT is rarely available outside the specialised HIV centre and will therefore be charged for.
To find out where you can get a post-exposure treatment, go to this page.
- Vaccination
The vaccination against papillomavirus and Hepatitis A and B is an effective way of protecting yourself.