November 15, 2007

Baby Boomers and STD's

By Stan Dyer

At first, I just chuckled, but I could see the man was serious. He told me that the largest group of people contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases in recent years is the Baby Boomers. Then, when I thought about it, it made sense.

Our society typically ignores the aging, but there are a lot of us around these days and we are not ready to ignore each other. For some reason, a paradigm developed that excludes we "older people" from wanting to enjoy many of the same things we have enjoyed all of our lives, particularly in the area of relationships. Personally, since turning 50, I have not noticed any changes in me or my personality that should exclude me from enjoying the things I enjoyed the day before I turned 50, or during any of those other 49 years. When I look in the mirror, it is still that same guy looking back at me, even though he may look a little gray and worse for the wear these days. To me, it is as if my age tells one story, but my mind has other ideas. Apparently, I am not alone.

Many aging adults are discovering that instead of the time coming to park the rocker on the front porch, the time has arrived to enjoy the benefits of a lifetime of work. Today's social society is as open as any previous society, but with more opportunity and freedom than ever before. There is just no reason to close up shop just because society believes life is only for the young. Unfortunately, despite all the benefits, there are a few drawbacks as well. One of those is the increase of STDs in aging Americans, especially in the area of HIV. Just as many Americans think fun is only for the young, they also think that only the young have to worry about protecting themselves.

While researching this story, I came across the story of a woman who divorced just before she turned 50. With her new freedom, she enjoyed the company of several male friends without a thought given to protection. These men were not strangers. She knew them and remained friendly for years. Then, in a routine blood test, doctors discovered the woman had contracted HIV, presumably from one of her partners. She said she did not even think about using a condom since she was post-menopausal, she knew she would not get pregnant, and she did not consider her behavior risky. It seems that just as younger society believes that older society thinks differently about relationships, older society somehow believes their relationships are immune to the same risks younger folks face. Statistics tell the real story.

The Centers for Disease Control report that people 45, 50 and older are experiencing staggering increases in STD transmission, particularly in women. The Centers note that people in their 40s contract STDs at twice the rate of people in their 20s. Due to the aforementioned "paradigm", boomer-aged Americans are typically ignored by health care professionals as a risk group. Additionally, communication between doctor and patient in the same age group is handicapped by possible embarrassment or out of respect; doctors do not want to bring up the subject and patients are reluctant to initiate the conversation themselves. A look at the numbers is even more revealing.

In the period from 1981 to 2005, there were 952,629 diagnoses of HIV. Considering that the number increases with time and the average was 39,257 per year, it is safe to assume that the 2007 number will be around 1,031,143. In the same time-period, 530,756 people died as a direct or indirect result of their infections. Adding in the average of 16,959 per year, the 2007 total may reach 564,674. This ongoing epidemic is neither letting up, nor going away. Since the ratio is two to one for older adults, the statistics tell us that of the 39,257 people diagnosed each year, 26,171 of them are aged 40 or older. As for deaths associated with HIV infection and using the same ratio, 11,306 of the 16,959 will also be people aged 40 or older. Hey, people, we went through too much to get to this point in life and there is too much life left at this point to give it up so easily. It is time to re-explore and re-educate ourselves about the risks of unprotected sex.

The important things to remember are, 1) If you are human, you can catch any STD any other human can. No one is immune. 2). Any unprotected sex is "risky" sex and must be avoided, 3) HIV/AIDS is only one of many STDs prevalent in today's society, and one of a number with no known cure., and 4) No one can protect you if you won't protect yourself. Here is a list of websites with more detailed information:

1) The Centers for Disease Control - www.cdc.gov

2) The CDC disease prevention website - www.preventdisease.com

3) Information on condoms and condom use - www.condomdepot.com

4) Women's issues - www.womenshealth.gov and www.4women.gov

5) Information from the Department of Health and Human Services - www.hhs.gov

Hey, it is your life, so enjoy it, but do not take any unnecessary risks. By now, we all know that life really is "too short", and, at this point in the game, we need to be sure we are making the most of all we have left. Shine on, you crazy diamond! , but stay safe!