STI Prevention Available at SSH

Protect Yourself & Your Community

PrEP and Doxy PEP are medications that you can take to prevent some STIs. Saskatoon Sexual Health’s Nurse Practitioner and physician can prescribe these medications, and they are free (with a Saskatchewan health card)! Taking PrEP and doxy PEP is harm reduction. It gives you the power to improve your sexual health, so that you can worry about STIs less and focus on pleasure more!

The Prevention Clinic

Saskatoon Sexual Health hosts a clinic for STI prevention medication prescriptions and management on the 2nd Saturday of each month. It is by appointment only, with appointments available from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm. During the Prevention Clinic, we offer a limited scope of our services. This includes

  • PrEP & Doxy PEP Consultations
  • PrEP Prescriptions
  • Doxy PEP Prescriptions
  • PrEP & Doxy Follow-Up (this includes regular STI testing, assessing side effects and other testing)
  • Anal Pap Tests (cancer and HPV screening)

PrEP: HIV Prevention

Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is a very effective HIV prevention strategy. People who do NOT have HIV can take PrEP to lower their chance of getting HIV. It is very effective; PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99%. It also reduces the risk of getting HIV from injection drug use by at least 74%. Anyone who wants to prevent HIV can take PrEP (as long as you’re eligible and do not have pre-existing conditions that would prevent you from taking this medication).

How does it work? PrEP helps block the pathways that HIV uses to cause an infection. There are 2 forms of PrEP: pills or injections. PrEP pills are either taken daily or as an on-demand regimen. PrEP injections are done every 2 months.

Doxy PEP

Doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis (doxyPEP) is one way to take the antibiotic doxycycline to help prevent some bacterial STIs within 72 hours of an exposure (unprotected sex). People taking doxy were 70% less likely to be diagnosed with chlamydia and 73% less likely to be diagnosed with syphilis than those not taking it. Doxy is only effective for preventing anal and oral transmission of these STIs. Doxy is also free (it is covered if you have an active Saskatchewan health card.

How Can You Get a Prescription?

If you are interested in PrEP or doxy PEP, there are a few ways to get a prescription. You can talk to your family doctor. It is also available through some online services, like Go Freddie. And of course, SSH can provide these prescriptions through our nurse practitioner or physician. PrEP and doxy are free in many provinces! If you have an active Saskatchewan health card, they are covered! Contact SSH to book an appointment. You can call us at 306-244-7989 or email us at hello@saskatoonsh.ca.

What does it require? First, you will have a consultation to assess if the medication(s) will work for you. Then you will receive initial testing. This will screen for STIs and possibly kidney or liver function, depending on the medication. Once those assessments are complete, you will receive a prescription. You will need testing every few months and a follow-up with your provider.  This ensures the medications are working without issues or side effects.

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