When it comes to AIDS, many people think that it is a disease that only young people get, and it is difficult to associate it with the elderly with “loss of libido”.

In fact, both nationally and globally, the trend of AIDS among the elderly is on the rise< span>.

According to the UNAIDS report, by the end of 2019, there were 7.9 million HIV-infected persons and patients over the age of 50 in the world, accounting for 21% of all HIV-infected persons and cases. Among them, there are 330,000 living HIV-infected persons over 50 years old in my country, accounting for 34% of all infected persons and cases.

Why are more and more elderly people infected with AIDS? Let’s listen to the personal experience of 2 elderly people.

1. Square dancing has become a “hotbed” of AIDS for the elderly

01 Uncle Wang, 65 years old, living alone< /strong>

The 65-year-old Uncle Wang has been single for many years and has been living alone. When he saw his old friends dancing square dance, he joined the team to pass the time. After going back and forth, Uncle Wang met Aunt Liu.

Like Aunt Liu and Uncle Wang, her wife has passed away for many years and has been living alone. Due to their similar life experiences, the two lonely hearts got closer and closer, and eventually developed into a relationship of boyfriend and girlfriend.

However, the good times didn’t last long, and not long after I dated Aunt Liu, Uncle Wang, who has always been in good health, suddenly developed unexplained diarrhea , Fever, which lasted for nearly a month and did not improve after taking medicine, so I had to go to the hospital for examination.

Unexpectedly, after the test results came out, Uncle Wang was puzzled: he was actually infected with AIDS.

Uncle Wang said that he had never behaved out of the ordinary and only had a close relationship with Aunt Liu. Suddenly, he seemed to understand something. Under the pressure of Uncle Wang, Aunt Liu finally admitted that she was diagnosed with AIDS last year, and she never told him the truth because she was worried that Uncle Wang would dislike it.

02 Aunt Zhang, 63 years old, widowed strong>

The 63-year-old Aunt Zhang has been widowed for many years and has never remarried. After finally pulling her son into an adult and starting her own small family, she finally has some free time and is fine. Just go do a square dance.

Aunt Zhang’s son is also very supportive in this regard. He feels that his mother has paid so much for him that he should have a life of his own.

Later, Aunt Zhang met Uncle Wu, who danced with the square dancer. The two talked about everything. Because they were both widowed for many years, they came together naturally. As a result, after dating for a period of time, Aunt Zhang developed symptoms of diarrhea and fever, which did not relieve after taking medicine, so she had to go to hospital check.

Unexpectedly, after Aunt Zhang’s examination, was told by the doctor that she was infected with AIDS. Auntie Zhang knew what was going on at once, and felt very regretful. She thought she could reap the happiness again, but unexpectedly she got into this “not good” disease.

She quickly cut off the relationship with Uncle Wu and told her son about herself. After his son found out, he did not accuse Aunt Zhang too much, but persuaded her to take good care of her illness.

Second, rising AIDS in the elderly: physiological needs have nowhere to be placed

Some people think that the elderly do not need to have sex when they are old, but this is not the case. The elderly also have normal physiological needs.

Professor Pan Suiming, a well-known sexologist in my country, pointed out that 53% of the 55-61-year-olds in China every month Having sex once, 39% even have sex three times a month.

It is normal to have physiological needs, but why are the elderly at a high risk of AIDS? The main reasons are as follows:

1. Lack of awareness of protection

Many elderly people Lack of awareness of protection, and have never even heard of AIDS, let alone how AIDS is infected. There are also some elderly people, although they know about AIDS, but feel that they are old and the possibility of infection is very low, or they break the jar and think that even if they are infected, it is not serious.

2. There are still physiological needs

According to the data, the elderly patients with AIDS are mainly male, indicating that males still have relatively strong physiological needs after the age of 50 , but because women’s estrogen decreases after the age of 50 and their sexual desire decreases, it may be difficult to meet the needs of the other half, which will cause the other half to take risks and go out to find a lady.

Some elderly people choose unusual ways to meet their sexual needs because they were widowed in their early years and have been single for many years.

3. Poor self-resistance

With age, various Physical functions are also declining, and the resistance of the elderly is getting worse and worse.

In addition, there are many square dancers and the environment is mixed, which is also a test of resistance. If self-control is poor and autoimmunity is low, the risk of infection is greatly increased.

Third, the elderly with AIDS should not be underestimated

At present, AIDS treatment requires lifelong medication. For the elderly, due to the gradual aging of organs, the speed of metabolizing drugs is also significantly slower, the tolerance to drugs is also greatly reduced, the probability of complications increases, the treatment effect is not ideal, and the mortality rate is higher. .

So, don’t think that the infection can be treated, the treatment effect is likely to be unsatisfactory< span>. Instead of thinking about how to treat it, it is better to do prevention work from the beginning, and do:

1. Check high-risk groups

For those who have had extramarital sex, men who have sex with men, or suspect that their spouse has extramarital sex, they are considered to be at high risk of HIV infection, even if there is no abnormality If you have symptoms, you should also go to a regular hospital or CDC for HIV testing as soon as possible.

2. Take protective measures

It is not scary to have physical needs, but it is scary not to take protective measures. No matter your age, any time, wear a condom properly before having sex and use it at all times. The role of condoms is not only contraception, but also can prevent AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.

3. Avoid high-risk behaviors

Multiple sexual partners and inappropriate sexual behaviors Behaviors such as using condoms, sharing needles and injecting drugs with others, extracting teeth and getting tattoos in informal medical institutions are all high-risk behaviors for HIV infection and should be avoided as much as possible to reduce the risk.

4. Post-exposure prophylaxis after high-risk behaviors

even if it happens accidentally High-risk behavior does not necessarily mean you will be infected with AIDS. You should seize the time to do post-exposure prevention work.Take specific antiviral drugs within 2-72 hours, which can reduce 81% risk of infection.

It is normal for the elderly to have physical needs, and we should treat them rationally, not biased.

For the elderly themselves, when meeting their normal physiological needs, they should focus on their health, learn more about AIDS, and take preventive measures to prevent infection. Risks are minimized, in order to enjoy a happy old age.

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