Remember “that talk” your folks had with you when you entered the teen years and started dating? If you are over 50 and considering a new relationship or about to embark on the dating scene after a long time out, it may be time for you to brush up on the facts of life all over again.

Those facts include sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS.  Back in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, HIV/AIDS was totally unknown to the general public.

“None of us had heard of AIDS until the 1980s,” says Columbia College’s Tina Trolier, instructor in human sexual behavior. “My students today have studied this in school and know how to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS, but people over 50 never got that education.”

Meanwhile, better health among older adults, more open attitudes toward sexuality, Internet dating, and the availability of medications like Viagra allow people to stay sexually active much longer. Some 73 percent of Americans ages 57-64 are sexually active, as are 53 percent of those 65-74, and 26 percent of those 75-85, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007.

This can be a boon to emotional and physical health.

“Sexual resurrection,” notes Dr. Todd Stolp, Tuolumne County Health Director, “is one of the most joyful events that can befall a senior. The life-confirming effects that are ignited by an intimate relationship should really be celebrated.”

While seniors should be aware of the risks of sexual activity in the modern world and should take steps to protect their health,  isolation and insecurity take a much larger toll on the elderly than STDs, Stolp says.

Part of the savvy senior’s task is to get educated.

Older adults are likely to assume that HIV/AIDS is a young person’s disease. If a person is again single after a long-term monogamous relationship they may never have used condoms. Seniors may avoid condom use, reasoning,  “I’m (or she’s) too old to get pregnant.”

Notes Trolier: “People this age haven’t gotten in the habit of using condoms.” Yet when they don’t, the statistics are stark.

“Americans 55 or older are 15 percent of the newly diagnosed cases of HIV/AIDS each year,” says Kathy Amos, director of Public Health Nursing for Tuolumne County. And the numbers are growing. She notes that there has also been an upswing in other sexually transmitted diseases, such as syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes and human papilloma virus among the over-50 population.

HIV is typically transmitted during unprotected sex, or during drug use when needles are shared. Anyone infected with HIV can transmit it, whether or not they appear sick, have an AIDS diagnosis, or are taking effective treatment for their infection.

Across the country, experts are seeing big increases in HIV/AIDS and STDs in communities where seniors cluster. In some cases, older men (“Condo Casanovas” is one moniker) cut a sexual swath through communities with higher female populations, often leaving a trail of HIV or STDs behind.

The good news is that antiviral medications help those with HIV/AIDS to live longer, more comfortable lives. The bad news is that denial is not a protection against infection. Seniors tend to be diagnosed later than the general HIV/AIDS population because they and their medical providers are less likely to see them as being at risk. Many of the symptoms of HIV mimic those of aging – memory loss, mental confusion, sleep problems, weight loss, vision problems, fatigue and a weakened immune system.

“The best way to protect yourself and your partner is for the two of you to get tested for HIV and other STDs before you start having sex,” the Foundation for Health in Aging advises. However, HIV is a sneaky disease and one negative HIV test is not enough. A second test should be taken six months later to ensure that each partner is HIV-free.

Stolp advises seniors to start by getting a complete physical exam, which can help determine what tests, if any, are advisable. Much hinges on past risk factors, such as multiple sex partners, intravenous drug use or exposure to contaminated blood, which some health-care workers experience. Based on a detailed personal history, your doctor can recommend which blood or urine tests are needed.

“What I’ve seen is that a new relationship brings a lot of self-consciousness with it, in re-envisioning the body as a sexual organ,” says Stolp, adding that communication is vital to alleviating any insecurities.

“And while a person may have very low risk factors, there are times that a test itself may be therapeutic – in other words, the cost of the test may be worth the peace of mind to the patient.”

Stolp points out that the risk of STDs in seniors is much less than in the young. “Prudent steps to prevent transmission of disease shouldn’t get in the way of two caring seniors enjoying expressions of love to each other.”

The ABCs of safe sex

• A is for “abstinence” until both you and your partner have tested disease free.
• B is for “be faithful.” Get to know your partner well. People with multiple sex partners are at much higher risk.
• C is for “use condoms” if you decide to engage in sex before testing.

Source: Tuolumne County Health Department

© 2010 Friends and Neighbors Magazine