Sexually Transmitted Diseases amongst Senior Citizens - Research Paper Example

 Introduction People seem to correlate age with the desire for sexual intercourse. The society presumes that senior citizens lack interest in making love. Once a person gets old, he or she is believed to be focusing only on his or her religious faith. Thus, it is surprising to know that there are actually many senior citizens who have contacted sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Whipple and Scura have found that at least sixty-five percent of residents in America aging sixty up to seventy-one still engage in sex and twenty percent of those who are seventy-eight years old continue to experience sexual pleasure (qtd. in Williams and Donnelley 106). Sexually Transmitted Diseases By the phrase itself, one can easily understand that STDs are passed by the carrier to the victim through sexual activities (e.g. oral sex, vaginal intercourse, or anal sex). There are actually more than twenty identified STDs which are grouped into three. STDs can be bacterial, parasitic and viral. Parasitic and bacterial STDs are curable by medications and antibiotics but viral STDs are not (“Sexually” 1). STDs which are spread through a virus is the most dangerous. They are fatal. The three most common viral STDs are AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), genital warts and genital herpes (“Sexually” 2). AIDS is actually caused by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) (“Sexually” 1). Until now, there is no known cure for this viral disease. Examples of bacterial STDs are gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis (“Sexually” 3). For the parasitic STDs, the most common is pubic lice (“Sexually” 4). AIDS among Older Adults In 1997, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that citizens aging fifty years old and over accounted for at least ten percent of all the new AIDS cases in America. This finding implies that older people do not use any protection against AIDS during sexual contact (Williams and Donnelley 105). Lack of knowledge about the fatal disease could be one of the reasons why senior citizens engage in unprotected sex. It could also be that these older adults do not consider themselves to be more prone of the risks (Williams and Donnelley 105). The AIDS infection among senior citizens is also attributed to the following causes: (1) using unsterilized apparatus for injecting drugs; (2) being a recipient of blood transfusion preceding the year 1985; and (3) misdiagnosed opportunistic illness (Williams and Donnelley 105). By 2006, the number of senior citizens affected with AIDS increased. It doubled in number from 1997. Older adults made up twenty-seven percent of all the documented victims. The state health officials in 2008 recorded 1, 282 citizens aging sixty-five and over to have been infected with AIDS (Carter). The Societal Forces It has always been a societal misconception that senior citizens do not engage in sex anymore. This belief is the root cause why the number of older adults affected with STDs has increased over time. Due to that stereotype, some medical professionals presume that senior citizens could not be infected with sexually transmitted diseases. Their minds are closed with regard to such health problem. Somehow, doctors depend on societal beliefs to analyze their patients’ health condition. According to Caitlyn Flynn, the doctors tend to avoid looking for signs of STDs in older patients (qtd. in Carter). During check-ups, they have the inclination to associate the signs such as sweating and dementia to the symptoms of aging (Carter). Medical professionals should stop this wrong practice. They should always be reminded that age is not the determining factor to conclude that a patient is not susceptible to STDs. On the patients’ side, they should always be open to their doctors about infections which are transmitted through sex. They should always have the courage to admit that they are in fact sexually active. In another instance, social workers are also guilty of the erroneous belief. When they disseminate information about STDs in different communities, they do not emphasize to senior citizens the ways to prevent AIDS. Like the doctors, they have the tendency to disregard the symptoms of STDs amongst these citizens. The business sector of the society also contributes to the problem on AIDS among older people. The proliferation of drugs that make older people active in sex has worsened the social problem. Viagra and other similar drugs have made these seniors “sexually active like never before” (Carter). This is an actual proof to destroy the presumption of the many. The Societal Values Actually, only a small proportion of the senior citizen population in America attends clinics for STD check-up (Sharples). Some are quite shy to talk to their doctors about their sexual life and the possibility of contacting a sexually transmitted disease. This attitude is a result of the society’s response for every STD infection. People tend to be indifferent to the victims of STDs. Instead of sympathizing with the affected individual, the members of the society tend to look down upon the person’s condition. They seem to associate bad thoughts to the individual. They consider the disease as a manifestation of immorality and label the victim a promiscuous slut, having bad values and low character (Nack 2). Some people are even blaming the infected victim for his or her disease (Nack 2). These negative responses from the society make the person feel so down and later on lose hope. The victim then avoids engaging in social activities. He or she may think that his or her body and reputation are so spoiled that he or she may never feel healthy again, valuable and whole (Nack 2). This reflects the present American society. The Response It is contended that more and more older people in America have become aware of the risks posed by unprotected sex. Over the years, the use of protection like condom has been prevalent in the community. This means that the American community is now promoting safe sex. This development has been attributed to the government’s active campaign against STDs. The American government has been sponsoring free medical check-up and consultation in various communities (“Find”). The health clinics supported by the state also offer free condoms (“Find”). However, despite such social awareness, the number of individuals infected with STDs has not substantially decreased. In the year 2009, the rate of chlamydia (a kind of STD) in the fifty most populous areas in America increased (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS] 8). Recommendation Senior citizens need the most comprehensive education about STDs. They often have wrong thoughts about protection. For example, many older women believe that using protection after menopause is unnecessary for they will not get pregnant anymore (Sharples). The American society therefore adheres to the idea that protection like condom only applies to young and fertile women. Such belief should be corrected. To be practical, the American government should create a television advertisement about STDs among older people. It should highlight the importance of early check-up. The family of senior citizens should be encouraged to guide their older parents and friends about the basics in using protection during sexual contact. They should be open-minded to the concerns of these groups of people. They should appreciate the effort of the seniors in consulting with a doctor about the disease. In this way, more older adults will go to clinics and talk about STDs with their doctor. The doctor then must listen well to the older adult and provide accurate information about the disease. Overall, sex education and family encouragement are effective ways to prevent the spread of STDs among senior citizens. Conclusion STDs are not only transmitted by the youngsters in America. Older adults are also responsible for its continued prevalence. This proves that age does not matter in detecting sexually transmitted infections. Any people whether sexually active or not can be a possible victim. In such case, the rule for safe sex should be observed. Works Cited Carter, Barry. HIV/AIDS Cases Rise Sharply for N.J. Senior Citizens in Recent Years. The Body, 2 Apr. 2010. Web. 8 Dec. 2010. . “Find Free STD Health Clinics.” YourStdHelp.Com. YourStdHelp.Com, n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2010. . Nack, Adina. Damaged Goods?: Women Living With Incurable Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008. Print. “Sexually Transmitted Diseases: Reference Summary.” X-Plain (2008): 1-8. The Patient Education Institute. PDF file. Sharples, Tiffany. “More Midlife (and Older) STDs.” Time. Time, 2 Jul. 2008. Web. 8 Dec. 2010. . U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2009.” Division of STD Prevention (2010): 1-156. PDF file. Williams, Edith, and Jerre Donnelley. “Older Americans and AIDS: Some Guidelines for Prevention.” Social Work 47.2 (2002): 105-111. Print. Read More