Wednesday is Condom Day, and it’s STI (Sexually Transmitted Infection)/Condom Week this week. STIs and HIV/Aids awareness talks are common at schools and you’ve probably heard all the statistics before, but there’s a surprising new demographic at risk: You’re now more at risk of catching STIs if you’re older. Here’s what you can do about it…
Many older people “have been married to the same partner for decades and have never worried about safe sex, so when they become widowed the idea of using a condom is foreign to them. Since their advanced age has wiped out the possibility of pregnancy, they may believe that protection is not needed,” says
The Queens Chronicle.
On top of this, we age, our immune systems weaken and this makes you even more prone to infection like STIs.
Medications for
heart disease, hypertension and
diabetes also make you more susceptible to STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), and “because STDs often have no symptoms at first, they frequently go untreated and are easy to unknowingly transmit,” adds The Queens Chronicle.
Luckily, you can prevent this by practicing safe sex, which means always using a condom if you’re unsure of your partner’s sexual history and HIV-status.
And don’t let concerns that condoms weaken the sensation during sex put you off safe sex – they’re unfounded!
Indiana State’s Centre for
Sexual Health Promotion has just released results from its online study of women and men ages 18-59, which showed that “participants consistently rated sex to be arousing and pleasurable, whether or not they used condoms or lubricant,” says the
NewsReview website.
You can also boost your
immune system to protect yourself from STIs by eating a
healthy diet and exercising regularly, with an added bonus – mild exercise could also improve your libido, says
Health Bytes.
Safe sex protects you, your partner and everyone else you’ll
sleep with in future, so make sure you start practicing safe sex today.
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Boost your immune system and practice safe sex to protect yourself from STIs!
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