Sexual Activity In Older Adults

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Over the years, it has been a popular misconception that older adults, 55 and over, no longer have the desire or ability to engage in healthy sexual activity. While some older adults do experience significant health problems and some mental decline, there is a large population in that age group who are mentally and physically able in sexual activity. As people are living longer, they appear to be taking advantage of the fact that they are still viable and desirable. Since Viagra and other erectile dysfunction medications were introduced in 1998, older adults seemed to have renewed an interest in sexual activity. It is unclear if prior to this, older adults were seeking out these products or if the advent of erectile dysfunction medication …show more content…
Fifth on the list is HIV/AIDS in 2013 with 908,000 existing cases. Eighth on the list is syphilis with 117,000 existing cases. The number of Syphilis cases is likely lower because it is quite curable. This is a major difference between HIV/AIDS and syphilis. Syphilis is caused by the bacteria Treponema pallidum, it is transmitted primarily through sexual contact. There are outward signs of the infection such as genital or anal sores but the sores can be confused for benign bumps such as in grown hairs. Early syphilis can be cured, sometimes with a single injection of penicillin. Without treatment, syphilis can cause severe organ damage and potentially lead to death. Syphilis was one of the most dangerous public health threats; it was fairly difficult to treat until penicillin was developed in the …show more content…
Neurological diagnoses require looking at a myriad of factors and diagnostic testing and a detailed medical history to link them to syphilis. Neurosyphilis occurs when the bacteria infects the Central Nervous System (CNS). Symptoms of neurosyphilis principally include: changes in personality or behavior, cognitive impairment, blurred vision and can lead to stroke. Blood vessels can become inflamed and blocked thereby leading to possibility of a stroke (Calvet, 2003). Psychiatric manifestations of syphilis include: mental confusion, depression, dementia, psychosis, mania, and delirium. When these symptoms are present, psychiatric practitioners must determine the origin whether it is a true psychiatric illness, drug induced or caused by late stage syphilis. Syphilis is generally the rarest form of psychosis. Prior to the development of penicillin, mental hospitals were populated with psychiatrically compromised patients who did not respond to psychotropic medications. This is also a good indication that a mental illness is not organic in
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