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AIDS AND SENIORS

My dear friend Rachael entered her second year as a widow, but her survival instinct helped her to overcome those several stages of grief in the process of closing that chapter in her life. It made me happy when she began dating Sam. We were old friends since our college days and Sam was more like a brother to me. It started with dinners and theaters and finally the trysts were fixed at his Lake house in the weekends.

 

 

Since she was in post-menopausal phase, Rachael was not serious about using contraceptives. Like people of our generation, she didn’t even bother to ask Sam about his sexual activities.

 

 

Some time later, Rachael started suffering from sudden weight loss and fatigue and when she did a series of tests prescribed by her physician, she found herself HIV positive. 

 

 

She asked her doctor, ‘how a person can be infected at the age of 64?’ Well, it may be due to having unprotected sex or sharing needles with an infected person and anyone can have HIV/AIDS regardless of age.

 

 

Rachael didn’t hesitate to tell me, her best friend, the problem. Rachael and me took the initiative to do an in-depth study of the people, 55 years and older, suffering from this disease. However, we soon realized that the older people often mistake signs of this viral infection for the normal aging complaints and they don’t consider to get tested. Moreover, not many of the older patients feel free to discuss their sexual activities with doctors, much younger to them.

 

 

Therefore, the diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS are often jeopardized following the myths and misconceptions among the elderly community. The belief that old people live a life of celibacy and sobriety is not always true. Senior adults do not always conform to public images any more than teens do and this brings in unfortunate outcomes.

 

Comparing against older men, statistics show that the older women are prone to get infected at higher rates. Having no fear of pregnancy, a post menopausal woman is likely to become more sexually active with multiple partners and causing harms to themselves. Due to aging, the vaginal walls become thin and less lubricated and so the membranes are more likely to tear during intercourse thus providing access for the virus and further intensifying the risk of getting infected.

 

Though it is often said that the incidence of AIDS is growing high irrespective of races, genders and sexual habits, it is also true that aging is another important factor that needs immediate attention.