Sexual health is relevant to the entire life cycle of people, whether young or old, and not just in the years of reproductive age, as stated. World Health Organization (WHO), which claims to recognize sexuality as a factor of well-being in the elderly. So why do we talk about the taboo in sex at this stage of life? Clara Fernandez Porta, co-founder of Rosita LongevityThey argue that as we get older, we tend to feel more insecure about having sex.
« It is curious that although each country and each culture has its own peculiarities, there are some common places in the sexual sphere among older adults. In the collective imagination, sex is considered the quintessence of intimacy at any age, but the physical, physiological, and even emotional limitations we face as we get older encourage us to realize it.
When it comes to having sex with our partners, it becomes unsafe”, he explains in statements provided to OKSalud.
In this sense, it details that “the little hype that exists in the big media to help prolong an enjoyable sex life for a man over the age of 60 is often unwise and summarizing everything for products, scoffs at that outstretched hand in its forms. For women with vaginal dryness and men suffering from erectile dysfunction.” And this, in a country where we constantly have jokes in our mouths, it doesn’t help to tell it verbally. which, on many occasions, we become hostages to our own taboos,” he says.
Rosita Longevity, a program that calls itself “a .” defines as Longevity Coach Joe, via a mobile appguides older people so that they can live many more years with health and energy”, echoes a survey conducted at the University of Lige (Belgium) and published last May, which concluded that those over the age of 70 31% of people are sexually active in any type of physical activity, including masturbation and anal sex.
Why, then, creates this state of taboo regarding the sexuality of the elderly? “We still have the genetic principle of fertility rooted in our unconscious and we have to fight, as the LGTBIQ+ collective is doing, to erase the boundaries of sexuality and to include different segments of the population within the group of sexual pleasure. . People” Fernandez replies.
« Gluten physical limitations They are primarily guilty and, because of survival instincts or emotional economy, discriminate against what makes us feel insecure. So instead of facing the problem, we run away from knowing its causes and considering different solutions. It is not about breaking down imaginary barriers but about building tangible bridges. And for this we must rely on health science.
However, there are hardly any specialists in physiotherapy or occupational therapy who understand or propose to their patients how to combine an active and pleasurable sex life, for example, if they wear hip or knee prostheses”, says Rosita. Condemn the co-founder.
The problem does not only occur in the elderly, but also among healthcare professionals, experts note. misconception of sexuality of older people than the general population. And so the expert invites us to “seriously reflect on how it is possible that a certain sex toy has been able to open the Pandora’s Box of female masturbation and move the debate down the street and even that started leading a movement and health professionals they we haven’t managed to use all of our knowledge to contribute to it.
“Pending Subject”
However, Fernandez claims that «Sex education still a pending issue globally» and explaining Rosita’s Healthy Longevity Plan recommends communication and continued exploration as keys to sexuality: «The impact of an active sex life on different levels among older people is something that needs to be talked about, treated and treated. able to communicate and communicate. And of course not everything is solved with a pill or gel.
Another tip is to make sure you have an independent life and give yourself space for it. natural desire. At this point, they point out, everyone over the age of 65 has a common milestone: retirement. «The phase in which routine is lost, many hours seem to be spent at home, without obligations, without parallel life, without mystery. Keeping your partner on the couch in pajamas all day is a recipe for decreased libido. Many sexologists have told us in recent years that they have begun to understand this problem more as a result of the pandemic, as many young patients with the same dilemma have come to consult them,” he cautioned.
Study led by Edina Sismaru-Inescu at the University of Lige The interview was conducted on 511 people over the age of 70 in homes or care centers for the elderly, of whom 200 were over 80 years old and 29 were already in their 90s. The researchers also found that 31% were sexually active and 47% had acts of tenderness with a partner, such as caress, kissing and hugging. Of the sexually active people, 74% were satisfied with their sex lives, and of the non-active, 60% were equally satisfied with the level of shared intimacy. From this work, it was concluded that after the age of 70, for a sexual relationship to be satisfactory, it must necessarily be in the emotional dimension and, although there is no age limit for sexuality, it should not be regarded as an obligation. to be seen. either..
