How soon before sex should I take antiviral therapy to protect partners?

[MissWorld]

So I know you can do episodic therapy vs suppressive with the main difference of that with episodic you only take meds at the onset of a prodrome instead of daily. Is it possible to only take meds right before you have sex to decrease shedding or does it have to be in your system for a few days prior to be more effective? I’d like to not take antivirals for awhile to see how my body handles the virus but I also want to protect the 2 partners I have when I’m ready to start having sex again ( I didn’t catch GHSV1 from either of them). I’m not in a committed relationship with either of them, and sex is usually a planned occurrence so I know a day or more in advance when it will happen. 

[mr_hopp]

Great question! It does have to be in your system for at least a week before it will have any protective effects for your partner(s).