For many people, reaching the age of 55 marks the pivotal turning point in one’s lifetime. Retirement (with its inherent lifestyle changes) looms, and people turn inward, examining their innermost thoughts, desires and sensations. Living life to the fullest becomes the goal. Adult communities, which once offered few amenities, now embellish common areas with lavish community fitness centers and well designed sporting arenas for tennis, golfing or swimming enthusiasts. Social interaction with one’s neighbors becomes the norm. Appreciation of the opposite sex is alluring, and with advances in modern medicine, erectile dysfunction is becoming a thing of the past.
Sexual intimacy at this stage can take different forms. For many newly “singled” mature adults, it can mark a return to sexual freedom not seen since their youth. But such freedom does not come without responsibility. Many older adults believe that, since the fear of an unwanted pregnancy is no longer an issue, the use of a condom is obsolete. But they are so wrong!
Recent studies have shown that sexually active mature adults, especially people with multiple sexual partners, are at high risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that, between 2005 and 2009 there has been a 43% increase in the reported cases of Syphilis and Chlamydia in people 55 years of age or older. And, according to a recent article in the Sun Sentinel, a South Florida newspaper… “a study conducted by sex researchers at Indiana University found that, in the United States, condom use was lowest among men over 50 years of age.”
Doctor Charles Drew Medical Blog 