The rising AIDS in the elderly, the physical needs of nowhere to be placed, two elderly people tell their experiences
When it comes to AIDS, do you think of young and able-bodied people? In fact, the elderly are also a high-risk group of AIDS.
According to the UNAIDS report, as of 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. The situation in China is also not optimistic. There are more than 330,000 HIV-infected persons and patients over the age of 50, accounting for 34% of all HIV-infected persons and cases.
Why is AIDS more and more favourable to the elderly? Let's look at two stories first.
01. Master Zhang, 62 years old, widowed for ten years
The 62-year-old Master Zhang's wife died at an early age. He lived alone for many years . He usually likes to go for a walk in the park. Once he went there, he met many old friends. Knowing that Master Zhang lives alone, it is inevitable that he is a little lonely at ordinary times. Under the guidance of a friend, he found a "dispatching method".
Master Zhang wanted to take advantage of his good health to find the feeling of youth, and also met a girl named Xiaomei. Although they are several decades apart from Xiaomei, the two soon developed a close relationship.
Master Zhang felt that the other party looked healthy, and he was old and infertile, so he did not take protective measures every time.
Unexpectedly, the good times did not last long. Due to the need for orthopedic surgery, Master Zhang needed a preoperative examination. That is, this time, the doctor told Master Zhang that his HIV test was positive . At the beginning, Master Zhang didn't believe it anyway, and firmly believed that the hospital made a mistake: I have regular physical examinations every year, and my health has always been very good, so why did I get AIDS?
Later, he learned that ordinary physical examinations do not check for AIDS antibodies at all, so he never knew that he was "hit". Master Zhang regrets it very much, so he can only take medicine and test on time, and try his best to take care of his body.
02. Brother Liu, 65 years old, has a poor married life
The 65-year-old brother Liu has been married to his wife for more than 40 years, but his wife's health has always been poor . After the birth of the two children, the two rarely lived as a married couple . With the children starting a family and the wife helping with the grandchildren, that aspect is hardly mentioned.
Once in a square dance in the community, Big Brother Liu met Xiao Li, who was single and divorced , and chatted with Xiao Li very speculatively. With Xiao Li, Brother Liu no longer avoids his own needs.
In order to hide from his family, sometimes Big Brother Liu can only go to Xiaoli while shopping for food. I thought I was doing it flawlessly. However, once I was unwell , Brother Liu went to the hospital for an examination and accidentally learned that he was actually infected with AIDS.
It turned out that Xiao Li was an AIDS patient, and she didn't tell Big Brother Liu because she was afraid that Big Brother Liu would dislike her. Brother Liu, who knows the truth, is in pain, and has no face to face his wife and children...
In the traditional concept, women need to care about their children and descendants when they are old, they need to manage housework, but they do not need to have sex. Older women suppress their sexual needs and ignore their concern for the other half.
1. Why are there more and more elderly people with AIDS?
In fact, it is mainly related to the following reasons:
1. The average life expectancy is longer and the body is healthier
With the development of society and economy, the trend of aging of the population is becoming more and more obvious. Data show that in 2017, the average life expectancy of Chinese residents reached 76.7 years. Moreover, not only the life expectancy has become longer, but the improvement of medical level has also made the body of the elderly become more and more healthy. Therefore, the pursuit of life has become richer.
2. There is no normal channel to meet the demand
Demand has always existed, but it has been suppressed or ignored, and it is difficult to meet it through normal channels. In order to meet their needs, some elderly people choose to take risks and even have intimate relationships with the same sex, which inadvertently increases the risk of HIV infection.
3. Lack of awareness of protection
According to statistics from the Hangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, elderly men are mainly infected with AIDS through extramarital heterosexual sexual contact and gay men who have sex with men; older women are infected with AIDS mainly through intramarital sex.
In real life, many elderly people lack awareness of AIDS prevention, and even some elderly people have never heard of AIDS, let alone prevention. There are also elderly people, even if they know it, they have a mentality of indifference. They feel that they are old and it is not a big deal to be infected.
2. Elderly people with AIDS who are easily overlooked
Elderly people with HIV face unique challenges. Although more elderly HIV patients are currently being tested, fewer older people are actively being tested than younger people.
On the whole, the elderly with AIDS have the characteristics of being neglected and difficult to be diagnosed. Most agree that older adults are less likely to have sex and are less likely to use drugs, reducing the likelihood that older adults have access to protective health information and early HIV testing. About 50% of older AIDS patients are diagnosed later in the disease course.
How can the elderly cope with AIDS, and how can we achieve early prevention and early detection?
First, use condoms correctly all the way through sex. If high-risk behavior occurs inadvertently, blocking drugs should be used within 72 hours to effectively reduce the risk of infection.
Second, actively learn and master the knowledge of sexual health. Once unsafe sexual behavior occurs, it is necessary to timely and actively conduct HIV testing. It is better to be wrong than to let it go. For people at high risk of infection, regular HIV testing at least twice a year is recommended.
Third, if it is inconvenient to go to relevant institutions for testing, you can purchase HIV urine self-testing reagents and conduct self-testing. Once it is found to be positive, it is necessary to go to the medical institution or the CDC for further examination and confirmation, and actively cooperate with the follow-up treatment.
AIDS is not scary, what is scary is our ignorance. Everyone has normal physiological needs, but don't put a heavy burden on your health for temporary stimulation! Whether young or old, we must cherish our bodies, actively learn about HIV prevention, and stay away from high-risk factors.
References
[1] "Aging of AIDS should not be underestimated". China Center for Disease Control and AIDS Prevention. 2021-07-20
[2] "Is there no sex life when I'm old? If you think about it this way, there will only be more and more elderly people with AIDS". Nutshell.2020-01-19
[3] "On the 34th "World AIDS Day", what you should know...". Physician News. 2021-12-01
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