CARNAL NATION

Canadian snowbirds who flock to Florida’s sunny south to relieve their winter blues are being cautioned to practice safer sex while on vacation. Sandra Bullock, professor of health studies and gerontology at the University of Waterloo warns that those over the age of fifty face a heightened risk of HIV transmission.

The Vancouver Sun reports that HIV rates are on the rise in older populations with Americans over the age of 40 making up the fasting growing group for new HIV diagnoses. Florida residents have the highest infection rates among those 50 and up, which puts sexually active snowbirds at particular risk.

"HIV and sexually transmitted infections are an issue that seniors, particularly once they're out there dating and meeting new people again, need to be aware of and consider, because after years of being in marriages . . . they're out in a different world than they were before," explains Bullock. She suggests that the casual attitudes toward vacation sex coupled with the misconception that HIV is a threat faced exclusively by younger people can be very dangerous for snowbirds. Doctors and other health professionals should be talking to all patients about sexual health, relationships and concerns regardless of age.

Ageist attitudes toward sex are evidenced by the invisibility and silence surrounding senior sex as well as the lack of sex-based research that addresses seniors. Bullock points out that the (Canadian) National Population Health Survey only asks sexual health questions to those under the age of 50. This not only conveys the inaccurate message that seniors are not sexual, but also results in a lack of accurate information about the sex lives of older persons. "We need to get a dialogue going where people are comfortable speaking about sex and sexual-risk issues," says Bullock, "so that we don't see a growing risk of HIV infection here as they have already seen in the southern states."

For information on safer sex and HIV prevention strategies, readers of all ages can click here.