US health officials want healthcare providers in the country to consider common antibiotic prescriptions for bisexual and gay men. They advise that doxycycline should be used as morning-after pills. It can help prevent common sexually transmitted diseases.
The rates of sexually transmitted diseases have risen to record levels. Moreover, the draft recommendation suggests the use of doxycycline.
because it has demonstrated benefit in reducing chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis infections and represents a new approach to addressing STI prevention in populations at increased risk for these infections.
Doxycycline is a reasonably priced antibiotic that has been used for over forty years. It includes treatment for acne, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and chlamydia.
A study that was published in The New England Journal of Medicine in April said that doxycycline reduces the occurrence of gonorrhoea, syphilis, and chlamydia by two-thirds among gay men.
This type of medicine is commonly referred to as post-exposure prophylaxis in medical terms.
The CDC proposal states,
Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) involves taking a medication to prevent an infection after a possible exposure and is a common strategy for prevention of HIV and other infections
Preventive Treatment
After the study had been published, the California Department of Public Health advised using it as a preventive treatment for all non-pregnant individuals. Furthermore, they also noted that it can be taken effectively within 72 hours of condom-less sexual intercourse, oral, anal, or vaginal.
