Why are more and more elderly people infected with AIDS? 2 elderly people over 60 years old, openly tell their experiences
When it comes to AIDS, many people think that this is a disease that only young people get, and it is difficult to associate it with the elderly who have "loss of libido".
In fact, both in China and globally, the trend of AIDS in the elderly is constantly rising .
According to the UNAIDS report, by the end of 2019, there were 7.9 million HIV-infected people and patients over the age of 50 in the world, accounting for 21% of all infected people and cases. Among them, there are 330,000 living HIV-infected persons over the age of 50 in China, 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 in the elderly
01 Uncle Wang, 65 years old, lives alone
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.
Aunt Liu, like Uncle Wang, also lived alone after his wife had passed away for many years. 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. Not long after I was with Aunt Liu, Uncle Wang, who had always been in good health, suddenly developed unexplained diarrhea and fever . It lasted for nearly a month, and the medicine did not improve, so he 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 acted out of line, 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
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 forming her own small family, she finally had some free time and went to dance square dancing when she had nothing to do.
In this regard, Aunt Zhang's son is also very supportive. He feels that his mother has paid so much for him, and he should have his own life.
Later, Aunt Zhang met Uncle Wu, who danced in the square. 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 the hospital for examination.
Unexpectedly, after Aunt Zhang's examination, she 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.
2. Rising elderly AIDS: Nowhere to place physical needs
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 famous domestic sexologist, pointed out that 53% of Chinese aged 55-61 have sex once a month, and 39% even have sex three times a month .
It is normal to have physical needs, but why do the elderly become a high-risk group for AIDS? The reasons mainly lie in the following points:
1. Lack of awareness of protection
Many elderly people lack 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
From the data, the elderly patients with AIDS are mainly men, which means that men still have relatively strong physiological needs after the age of 50. However, due to the reduction of estrogen and sexual desire in women after the age of 50, it may be difficult to meet the needs of the other half. It will cause the other half to take risks and go out to find the lady.
There are also elderly people who have been widowed in their early years and have been single for many years. In order to meet their sexual needs, they choose unusual ways.
3, self resistance difference
With the increase of age, various functions of the body also continue to decline, and the resistance of the elderly becomes worse and worse.
In addition, there are more people dancing square dance, and the environment is mixed, which is also a test of resistance. If the self-control is relatively poor and the autoimmunity is relatively low, the risk of infection will be greatly increased .
3. The elderly with AIDS should not be underestimated
Currently, the treatment of AIDS 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 fatality rate is higher. .
Therefore, do not think that the infection can be treated, and the treatment effect is likely to be unsatisfactory . 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 a high-risk group of HIV infection. Even if they do not have abnormal symptoms, they should go to a regular hospital or illness as soon as possible. HIV testing at the control center.
2. Take protective measures
It's not scary to have physical needs, but it's scary not to take protective measures. Wear a condom correctly before having sex , no matter your age, and 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
Behaviors such as having multiple sexual partners, not using condoms during sex, sharing needles and injecting drugs with others, pulling teeth and getting tattoos in informal medical units are all high-risk behaviors for HIV infection and should be avoided as much as possible to reduce the risk.
4. Do post-exposure prophylaxis after high-risk behaviors
Even if you accidentally have high-risk behaviors, you are not necessarily infected with HIV. You should hurry up and do post-exposure prevention work. Taking specific antiviral drugs within 2-72 hours can reduce the risk of infection by 81% .
It is normal for the elderly to have physiological needs, and we should also treat them rationally without prejudice.
For the elderly themselves, when meeting their normal physiological needs, they should focus on their health, learn more about AIDS, take preventive measures, and minimize the risk of infection, so that they can enjoy a happy old age.
References
[1] "Aging of AIDS should not be underestimated". China Center for Disease Control and AIDS Prevention. 2021-07-20
[2] How did the 102-year-old Jiangxi old man contract AIDS? 》.Jiangxi Disease Control.2020-08-14
[3] "The world's first case! Women who have recovered from AIDS appear, can AIDS be cured in the future? 》 . Popular Science China. 2022-02-21
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