The CDC is getting close to recommending it to prevent STIs like chlamydia and syphilis.
"Years after it was first proven to work, a new tool for preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is now closer than ever to entering mainstream medicine.
That tool is doxyPEP, an antibiotic that works like a morning-after pill — but instead of preventing pregnancy within hours of unprotected sex, it prevents STIs like chlamydia and syphilis. Ever since a 30-person trial first suggested hope for the strategy in 2015, people worldwide have begun trying doxyPEP for themselves, often without the approval or supervision of a medical provider.
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Why did it take so long for the CDC to get behind doxyPEP?The major obstacle has beenthe fear that doing so wouldtouch off a perilous game of infectious disease whack-a-mole — that in trying to mitigate one public health crisis, we’ll worsen another one.
Doxycycline, the medication in doxyPEP, is an antibiotic. Worldwide antibiotic resistance is a major problem — and doxyPEP runs the hypothetical risk of exacerbating it. Disease-causing bacteria can evolve resistance when exposed to certain antibiotics, becoming more dangerous.
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Doxycycline has plenty of street cred in the STI world. A week’s worth of the medication is the first-line treatment of choice for chlamydia, and a two-week course is the best syphilis treatment choice for people allergic to penicillin. (Doxycycline also sometimes works against gonorrhea, although the germ’s growing resistance to the medication means it is no longer recommended as a treatment for that infection.)
In contrast, doxycycline PEP is for preventing infection, not for treating it. “PEP” stands for post-exposure prophylaxis: The idea is that if a person takes a single dose of the medication soon enough after unprotected sex, any bacteria that might cause an STI would be killed before entrenching enough to cause a full-blown infection."
