What is post-exposure prophylaxis?
In general, the administration of medication after contact with a pathogen that is a health hazard is called post-exposure prophylaxis. The administration of the drugs serves to protect the body from the potential disease that could be caused by the invading pathogen in the body. Furthermore, vaccinations, e.g. in cases of rabies or the administration of so-called immunoglobulins, are also understood as post-exposure prophylaxis.
In case of infection with a pathogen that is a health hazard, serious diseases can occur. To prevent this, post-exposure prophylaxis should be considered immediately. What other emergency medications are available? You can get an overview of these under: Which emergency medications are available?
Causes for post-exposure prophylaxis
There are a number of diseases that can be the cause for the use of post-exposure prophylaxis. Probably one of the best known pathogens is the HI-Virus. In this case, there may be a potential risk of transmission in the context of a needle-stick injury or sexual intercourse with an HIV-infected person, which makes the use of post-exposure prophylaxis necessary.
Furthermore, a potential risk of infection with hepatitis B can be a reason for post-exposure prophylaxis. For example, hepatitis B can result from a needle-stick injury that has previously come into contact with blood from a person with hepatitis B. Hepatitis B is also transmitted through sexual intercourse.
Tetanus, also known as tetanus, is another possible disease that requires prophylaxis. People who have no or an outdated vaccination status should be re-vaccinated or treated with immunoglobulins as soon as possible to prevent an outbreak of the disease. Rabies is also one of the diseases that require post-exposure prophylaxis.
After the bite of a wild animal or dog with unknown vaccination status or signs of rabies infection, it should be initiated immediately. Likewise, if a person shows signs of meningitis, post-exposure prophylaxis should be recommended to those affected. Meningococcal meningitis is a life-threatening infection with bacteria called meningococci. In case of contact with infected persons, an outbreak of the infection can, in the best case, be counteracted with prophylaxis. The listed diseases with further important information can be found under:
- The most important facts about HIV
- What is hepatitis B?
- How dangerous is tetanus really?
- Rabies – That is behind it
- What is meningitis?
