YOU HAVE ONLY 72 HOURS AFTER EXPOSURE TO HIV TO DECREASE YOUR CHANCE OF BECOMING POSITIVE    

Call 323-231-6000 for HIV prophylactic treatment consultation ( No walk in is accepted)

PEP:

It stands for Post Exposure Prophylaxis. It means If you get exposed to HIV virus there is a short window period of 72 hours that under supervision of an experience doctor you could take special anti viral medicine. In this way your HIV infection might not get finalized and you increase your chance that you remain HIV negative !

The most effective methods for preventing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are those that protect against exposure to HIV. Antiretroviral therapy cannot replace behaviors that help avoid HIV exposure (e.g., sexual abstinence, sex only in a mutually monogamous relationship with a non infected partner, consistent and correct condom use, abstinence from injection-drug use, and consistent use of sterile equipment by those unable to cease injection-drug use). Medical treatment after sexual, injection-drug--use, or other non occupational HIV exposure* is less effective than preventing HIV infection by avoiding exposure.

How effective is this method:

There is no randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial to check the true effectiveness of the treatment, and probably will never be a clinical trial because it is unethical to put people life at risk of HIV infection in order to test a drug. However, it seems to be effective . This approach is recommended by CDC and you could get more information on that from cdc.gov.

There are some data available from animal study and health care workers who got exposed with infected blood or HIV positive pregnant mothers who got similar approach which might sometimes reduce the risk for HIV infection after exposures by getting PEP.

Qualification: Not everyone would be qualified for the treatment. We evaluate the situation case by case. For example: if you have unprotected intercourse with HIV positive person then you will be a strong candidate.

How much does it cost: PEP management is slightly different from person to person. Anti- HIV PEP medicine, diagnostics and follow up for one month have cost involve, but if you become HIV positive then you need all of those for life which is much more expensive than one month. We have done some arrangment with speciality HIV Rx Pharmacy to give discounted medicine to our PEP patients, however you have option to go to any pharmacy you like to get your PEP medicine.

In conclusion, it will be the cheapest investment of your life for 30 days if it works and change your destiny. However, not everyone is candidate regardless of affordablility. We evaluate and inform you if you are andidate when you come for initial PEP consultation.

72 Hours: You have only 72 hours after exposure to HIV to take PEP. The sooner the better. You should not wait for last minute. You have to consider many elements such as, the time you need to spend in the clinic in order to get evaluated, the time you need to spend in pharmacy in order to fill your prescription. Pharmacy dispensing time and the most important of all unexpected obstacle such as getting flat tire, trafic on the way you come to the clinic, missing appointment or just simply cancellation of your appointment by act of God or other reason by us.

If you start on early hours then you always have time for PLAN B.

We do not guarantee or take no responsibility if you are late for your PEP treatment for any reason or if you acted on clinic non operation hours, unavailability of appointment financial cost of PEP management such as paying for your prescription . This is not the time in your life for procrastinating.

Real Case Report:

I will give you 2 examples.

I tried it myself:

When I was doing my residency in MMC hospital in Phoenix Arizona, the big splash of blood scatered on my face while my intern was placing Swan-Gans cath in patient's chest. I was devstated and very afraid of getting HIV. At that time I was notified by hospital of post exposoure prophylaxis (PEP) . I was given PEP medicine and fortunately I remained HIV negative by subsequent testing by my teaching hospital.

I gave it to my patient:

We received the phone call from a doctor who had sexual contact with a new partner which he met at a bar. After the sexual contact he noticed that his genitalia is contaminated with the girl's blood as she was menstruating. He became anxious and started questioning her just to find out that she was HIV positive. We initiated post exposure prophylactic treatment as last hope to protect him against HIV infection. He took PEP treatment recommended by us for one month and follow up for 6 months as he was finally declared as HIV negative. We could never find out what would be his HIV status if he had not taken PEP treatment, but that was the only option he had. One of the most important aspect of this example is that he was a doctor himself. HIV does not care about your status if you are poor, rich, prisoner or president. HIV is life changing syndrome it will impact your health, your financial status, your relationship and many other aspect of your life so use protection and get tested routinely and do not put yourself and public at danger.

Risk:

Blood transfusion > Needle Sharing injection Drug Use> Receptive Anal Intercourse > Precautions Needle stick > Receptive Penile Vaginal Intercourse > Insertive Anal intercourse > Incertive Penile-Vaginal Intercourse > Receptive Oral > Incertive Oral

HIV Testing:

Because persons who are infected with HIV might not be aware they are infected, baseline HIV testing should be performed on all persons seeking evaluation for potential HIV exposure. If possible, this should be done with an FDA-approved rapid test kit (we can do it in 15 minutes). If you are already HIV positive then you were not aware of it then maybe you do not need PEP and you need to be seen and follow up for your HIV treatment.

Follow ups:

If patient is candidate for Post exposure prophylaxis then candidate should have follow up evaluation and testing based on CDC recommendation. HIV medicine has risk and side effects and we need to check your liver, kidney and blood test to make sure the medicine is not effecting your health.

Our complete PEP management program will cover all these area till you get final test in 6 months to confirm your treatment has been successful and you are HIV negative.

Early stages of HIV infection may associated with some symptom. Following table will explain to you what symptom are the most common symptoms, but you should know that you won't have any symptom at beginning or no symptom at all to begin with.

Example of Stages of HIV

Viral Transmission (2-3weeks)--->early  retroviral syndrome(2-3 weeks)----->Recovery & seroconversion-------> No symptom HIV infection ( average about 8 years)-------> AIDS (avg 1-2 years)-----> Death

Possible Early HIV infection Symptom (retroviral syndrome)

Fever , Headache , Tiredness, Enlarged Lymph nodes

Possible Later HIV symptom(before AIDS)

• Lack of energy
• Weight loss
• Frequent fevers and sweats
• Persistent or frequent yeast infections (oral or vaginal)
• Persistent skin rashes or flaky skin
• Pelvic inflammatory disease in women that does not respond to treatment
• Short-term memory loss

Misleading Online Testing

One web site with hundreds of of "Testing Centers!"

These internet "HIV Testing Center" web sites are mostly located outside of California, and most of them are just a web site without a physical location. They charge the buyer and send the patients to a lab specimen receiving center without an actual doctor visit or situation specific testing and interpretation of results. They claim they have more than 1800 and sometimes 2500 STD/HIV testing centers/clinics nationwide! This is misleading. These centers are often nothing more than a toll free number, credit card machine and "HIV/ STD test" sales person. For PEP treatment you have only and only 72 hours to get treated to remain possibly negative and if you delayed by waiting for few days of test result then you will loose that window of opportunity.

We are capable of checking for both HIV 1 and HIV 2 with blood or oral fluid in a few minutes. Our test is highly accurate, FDA approved, and done in our certified lab. We do not do home test or non-FDA approved self tests. An experienced medical doctor and not just a counselor will talk to you and answer all your specific questions. We will provide you with the official report with both the MD and Lab Director's signature the same day for your record, your doctor, or your partner. If you can not wait hours or days for your HIV test result,  then we can provide one to you in minutes. We are centrally located in Southern California. 

When it comes to HIV testing, count on us.

Compare different method of HIV tests

Testing Met od ...How it checks.....When to Check

HIV antibody test (FDA recommended)	check for antibody against HIV	we use immunoassay, rapid antibody detection	our lab HIV test check for antibody against HIV
HIV Western Blot	for confirmation if antibody test became positive	Gold standard when HIV antibody is positive	when HIV antibody test become positive WB will confirm the diagnosis of HIV
HIV antigen Test	check for presence of small molecule protein which exist in core	FDA has recommended that all blood and plasma donations be screened with tests for HIV-1 using this method because these test results frequently become positive before assays for HIV antibodies, not recommend for routine diagnostic testing	Valuable in detecting HIV infection early in the window period after exposure within three weeks after exposure
PCR-DNA (qualitative PCR)	check for DNA in cells of infected	not recommended for first 28 days after exposure for increase false negative  Not approved by FDA for diagnostic purpose	Viral detection in case of neonatal HIV & indeterminate serologic tests ..only after 28 days of exposure
Viral Load test (quantitative PCR)	Amount of HIV in blood stream mostly for known HIV/ AIDS patient	some infected individual may have no viral load early in disease	will reveal how much virus is in a person's bloodstream (the viral load).

When you walk in to our center you will be seen by Dr. Arani

All your questions regarding HIV testing/ risk/ transmission will be answered. Pre test counseling will be done. Your risk will be evaluated  and we will perform confidential HIV test for you. Doctor will give your test result and official test report will be provided to you on same day since we have our own lab. 

HIV in Oral Sex: According to recent study and CDC

"likelihood of transmission of HIV from an infected person to an uninfected person varies significantly depending on the type of exposure or contact involved. The risk of becoming infected with HIV through unprotected (without a condom) oral sex is lower than that of unprotected anal or vaginal sex. However, even a lower risk activity can become an important way people get infected if it is done often enough".

"Nearly half (3 of 8) of these cases reported oral problems, including occasional bleeding gums. Almost all (7 of 8) of these men reported to have had oral contact with pre-semen or semen."

Gum Disease, Lip sore, Dental problem aphthous ulcer & Oral sex

All of the above oral pathology could increase the possibility of exposure to sexually transmitted disease. If you have fissure on your lip, if you have mouth sore, if you have bleeding gum if you have had recent tooth extraction by performing oral sex you are at both risk of getting or giving STDs to or from a partner. For you to understand this concept I would say HIV-1 to be 110 to 128 and 132 to 146 nm , so it is about 0.00011 to 0.000014 millimeter. It is so small that you can not even imagine it. It is hardly be seen by electron microscopy. In this way by having slightly bleeding the chance of exposure is high to thousands to million of virus depends of viral load at time of sex. 

Testimonials   (The following patients were seen recently in our clinic, and are just some examples of numerous

other similar praises.)

" I flew 3000 miles to see Dr.Arani, he was only doctor that identified my condition, moreimportantly he was very sincere during this ordeal". J.R   Florida

After being declared HIV positive by one of the world’s most renowned medical institutions, I came to your lab for a second opinion. Within 30 minutes, you were able to administer and return the results of an FDA approved test that showed that the original lab had made a mistake. After a week, the original lab called to tell me that I was in fact HIV negative and that they had made a mistake. The piece of mind your facility provided was crucial in helping me get through one of the most difficult weeks of my life.

Nic, Los Angeles CA 11/18/2008

"Thank you for giving me all of the test and explanations....I looked on the internet for other centers. There are labs, but none had a doctor." T. Braz California"

Today I went for my final test for my Hiv and STD test. It was negative. It had been over a year since the last risk encounter. It had been a worst year in my whole life. Fortunately, I found Dr. Arani and he helped me through this horrible year. So as all the nurses in this clinic had been a great support for me. He is not only my doctor, but my friend and my psychiatrist. I would like to have all my thank to Dr. Arani and nurses. 100% recommend to everyone who needan excellent Infectious Disease Specialist who is more than just doctor, but friend"L.J Los Angeles, California"

.....With 4 weeks of  penile discomfort and negative Gonorrhea/ Chlamydia  test finally I was tested by Dr. Arani and he explained my Urethritis and he treated me and everything got cleared in few days ...."P.J Camarillo, California

.. "I got tested with  commercial medical lab and I was positive for herpes. I was so stressed and I did not know what to do till I came and got examined and tested with doctor and I was explained that everything was fine !. I got so relieved....." Confidential Patient  Torrance, California

"I came to Dr. Arani,...he was the only person diagnose my condition"

E. Briceno  Panorama City, California  

"It was amazing that they tested me for both HIV 1 and HIV 2 without needle with negative result in few minutes. "   Pacoima, California