When we were young, schools made a vague attempt to tell us about "sex", mostly pushing the idea that abstinence was good for us. Parents? Well, some could be helpful, but most were more embarrassed than the schools, so this left self-help manuals and practical experiments with the "others". But, one way or another, we got things worked out and, with a bit of practice, managed to get into a pleasurable way of doing things. The years then flashed by and, for the most part, sex was still pleasurable. Passing forty wasn’t as bad as we’d feared, except it brought erectile dysfunction that much closer. Are you doing the math? This is for you guys born before the 1970s. Sure the 1960s were supposed to be a time of sexual liberation but, for most, it was all rather innocent. Sex education in those days? Not really. Except for a general warning not to do it, there was less help than today. Why worry? you ask.

There’s this helpful journal, Anal Internal Medicine (well, it’s close to that). A new piece of research into the health insurance claims made by all you guys aged 40 and above gives a sad picture. It seems all you slightly older guys taking erectile dysfunction drugs have three times the rate of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) as those who manage sex without drug support. You see the promotion of "safe sex" really only got started about the time HIV was recognized as a threat for both straight and gay people. Older people settled on their habits before condoms seemed like a good idea.

Keeping this real, the young of today have a lot more sex than we did. They have a different attitude (and multiple partners). When we older people meet, it’s less likely we will end up in bed together. This is not to say we practice abstinence. We just tend to move more slowly before starting a sexual relationship. So how bad is the situation? The research team estimate there are about 19 million new cases of STD every year. About half these cases are in the young, i.e. less than 25 years old. In the other 50%, the biggest group at 27% is aged 40 to 49, 13% are in their 50s, and 3% over 60. And the big downer? The rate of infection is 3.19 times higher among the men who take erectile dysfunction drugs like Cialis.

There are two main reasons for this difference. The first is culture. Older men missed out on today’s more explicit sex education. They found "natural" sex better. Converting them to condoms in their later years is a challenge. In fact, many claim using a condom is a big turn off. All that messing around just when you get the erection slows things down too much. The second reason is a mythology about Cialis. Some have the mistaken idea Cialis is as good as a condom. Sadly, only a physical barrier can keep you safe. No pill can prevent the transmission of disease. The fact there are pills to help cure some of the infections is neither here nor there. If you are planning sex, use a condom or face the risk of STDs.