Do Old People Get STD's Too ?

In our society, you can rarely go a day without seeing and advertisement promoting safe sex. Whether it is a commercial on the television or a lecture from a parent or a teacher, we are constantly reminded to "protect ourselves" or "wrap it up". These ads are almost ALWAYS geared to young adults and teenagers. Whenever you think of someone receiving an STD you most likely associate it with a young senseless person whose living life fast and not thinking of the consequences. You rarely see or hear about any senior citizens contracting STD's or even promoting safe sex. This poses the question of whether or not old people also get STD's.
The answer is YES! According to http://www.aarp.org/ there has been a drastic increase in sexually transmitted diseases among people over 50. From the years 2005-2009 there was 43% rise in cases of syphilis and claumidia reported among citizens over the age of 55. These numbers were even higher in places where there is a large population of senior citizens, such as nursing homes and senior living facilities. Old sex does not mean safe sex. In fact in many places the number of old people who are infected with sexually transmitted diseases has far surpassed the amounts of adolescents.
This increase in sexually transmitted diseases among senior citizens is due to a variety of things. One thing that has influenced this new trend of “frisky” seniors is the use of male enhancement pills such as Viagra. These medications have allowed for senior citizens to carry on their sex lives just as they did when they were young. Another factor for the increase of STD’s among senior citizens was the era they grew up in. Back when these now senior citizens were younger sex was a topic that was sort of kept in the dark. Sex and ways to protect yourself were rarely talked about. Because of this, many seniors simply just do not know about the various forms of protection there are out there to defend you against STD’s.
It is common knowledge that as you get older your immune system grows weaker and weaker. STD’s are diseases that attack your body’s immune system and without proper treatment these sexually transmitted diseases can mean life or death in senior citizens. Many approaches are being taken to prevent these senior citizen STD statistics from increasing. Medicare is now reflecting on a decision to create regular senior STD screenings. They are also considering establishing sexual health classes for these seniors.

http://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/news-05-2011/seniors_sex_lives_are_up_and_so_are_std_cases.html

http://www.stdandhivtesting.com/blog/2011/04/std-transmission-is-on-the-rise-again-is-it-the-teenagers-no-it%E2%80%99s-something-quite-different-%E2%80%A6/