Food and herbal nutritional products » Genital » An ageless affliction
An ageless affliction
View PDF | Print View
by: Guest
Total views: 883 Word Count: 592
Oh, sure, mom and dad used to say, it's all big fun - until someone gets hurt. But these days, the tables have turned, especially when it comes to the ultimate in potentially hazardous adult fun - sex. And today the people being hurt are those same moms and dads who in the intervening years have become grandparents and great-grandparents - largely due to all the fun they'd been having while engaging in unprotected sex, with more people over 50 than ever contracting HIV, AIDS, Chlamydia, genital warts, genital herpes, gonorrhea and syphilis.
Viagra, online dating, mid-life divorce or just plain ignorance, but whatever the reason, it is a fact that sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise among the 50-plus age group," states the Web site sexyseniors365.com.
Considering the results of some recent surveys, none of this should come as a surprise. A University of Chicago study, for instance, showed that nearly 60 percent of unmarried women ages 58 to 93 surveyed said they didn't use a condom the last time they had sex, according to a story in US News and World Report. And that lack of precaution - a study conducted by Ohio University found that about 27 percent of HIV-infected men and 35 percent of HIV-infected women over 50 sometimes have sex without using condoms - has had predictable consequences.
Today, HIV carriers, the Centers for Disease Control reports, are living longer, with the majority expected to be over 50 by 2015, and, according to US News & World Report, about 15 percent of all new infections are now occurring in this age group. Herpes, Chlamydia and human papillomavirus, which has been linked to cervical cancer, are also becoming more prevalent in people 50 and older.
HIV infection rates among older Americans are probably even higher than the statistics indicate, due to misdiagnosis, under-reporting and undertesting," writes Dr. Dorree Lynn, co-founder of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Psychotherapy.
Last year, Time magazine reported on a study conducted in England that found STD rates had more than doubled among people ages 45 and older. From 1996 to 2003, total cases of Chlamydia, genital herpes, gonorrhea, syphilis and genital warts increased 127 percent among people over 45, Time reported. Rates of STDs increased by 97 percent in patients under 45 during the same time period.
Researchers point to a high mid-life divorce rate and online dating as two factors contributing to the increased prevalence of these diseases. "What we have in this age group is a lot of people who are separated or divorced and seeking relationships. Sometimes they obtain them via the Internet, where they don't know the person and they don't know their sexual history," Dr. Babatunde Olowokure, an author of the English study, told Time.
But as potentially hazardous as these behaviors are, what all this also means is seniors are living longer and finding themselves more and more involved in what were once considered nontraditional (or even socially unacceptable) romantic and sexual relationships after divorce or the death of a life partner.
As Los Angeles-based sex therapist Dr. Susan Block points out, society's moral values have changed dramatically when it comes to seniors, who today are living longer and leading more active - and sexually active - lives.
As Block says, just because a person is older doesn't mean they stop having romantic longings and sexual urges. And "you're never too old to get an STD, just as you're never too old to fall in love," Block says.
Additional information:
Picture of genital warts
They look like bug bites. But it does not hurt or itch. - JustAnswer
What are Genital Warts ? Genital warts are caused by a virus. The
Early stage of genital warts pics: first stages of genital warts
In the know zone - genital warts
Vaginal warts
Genital Warts Treatment Tips
Genital Herpes - What do i have is it herpes genital warts or what??
Genital infections
Home Remedies for Removing Warts - Life with Genital Warts - get
Related "Genital Diseases":
- Broome County Promotes STD Awareness
Shaun did not think he had a problem until he go ... - Doctor Q&A Judith O'Donnell, MD
Why go now? Portugal s seaside capital is every b ... - BioVex Raises $40 Million in First Close of Series F Financing
WOBURN, Mass., March 30, 2009 /PRNewswire via CO ... - Shingles Pain: Back to using narcotics?
Shingles is when the long latent chickenpox viru ...
Rating: Not yet rated (votes: 0)
