You’re at that age of being far more worried about a sexual encounter leading to achy joints than to pregnancy. So why do you need any sexual protection like a condom?
The reason is clear according to the statistics from the Center on Disease Control of a 400% to 600% increase in the rate of sexually transmitted infections among those over 55 since 2010! Clearly, we’re living up to the “free love” generation, but it’s coming at a cost of our health. Despite this significant increase in STIs, neither older adults or healthcare providers are recognizing the seriousness of this risk. In a recent survey of persons over age 60, 91.5% said they are rarely or never concerned about getting an STI. Healthcare providers don’t routinely ask older patients about their sexual health or include STI tests in routine blood work. Why are we so afraid to talk about sex when our health is on the line?
The increases in STIs among those over 55 since 2010 are dramatic and should make you think twice about needing sexual protection. In 2022, the rate of syphilis cases per 100,000 for those over age 55 was 5.2 compared to 0.8 in 2010, a 650% increase. Gonorrhea’s rate per 100,000 for those over 55 was 18.8 in 2022 compared to 3.5 in 2010, a 537% increase. Chlamydia shows the same pattern with a rate of 19.8 per 100,000 in 2022 compared to 3.6 in 2010, a 550% increase.
Why is this happening?
Several factors are contributing to the increases in STIs among older adults. People are living longer and having sex for more years and thus, are more at risk of a STI. The availability of ED drugs and hormonal medications allow for frequent sexual activity to be sustained well into old age. For many older adults, our sex education consisted of just a short film in gym class focusing on pregnancy, so too many are unaware of their STI risk and don’t know they can get infected through oral, anal, and vaginal intercourse.
Online dating apps geared toward seniors create convenient opportunities for those divorced and widowed to meet new partners, albeit with little knowledge of their sexual histories and STI risk. Retirement communities, with their concentration of older adults and emphasis on social activities ,promote more casual sex and hook-ups and with their unbalanced population of more women to men, many men are likely to have more than one sexual partner. Studies have found clustering of STIs in warmer climates like Florida where there is a higher concentration of older people. Another contributor is the 55+ population is now totally comprised of Baby Boomers who came of age during the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. We were labeled the generation of Sex, Drugs and Rock n’ Roll and our attitude towards sex and our behaviors certainly reflect that as we’ve aged.
Protection from STIs is a two-way street and the responsibility of both partners. If you are with a new partner, you need to ask when they were last tested for STIs and if they’ve had unprotected sex. This discussion needs to happen before a sexual encounter. If the male does not like using a condom because it can end an unpredictable erection or slip off a penis that is not firm, then it is especially important to have a conversation about sexual history and STI tests. Both men and women need to take responsibility for their protection and have condoms on hand for any potential sexual activity. Condoms are readily available online or in the grocery store, Target, Wal Mart, or drug store where you can use the self-checkout if you’re embarrassed about buying condoms at your age. Having sexual protection on hand and asking about STI tests is not being presumptuous about the hope of having sex nor being promiscuous. It is about protecting yourself from being infected with a STI.
(Feature Image: Pexels)
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