Historically High STDs For One Shocking Group Of Louisianans

A person doesn't have to take that long of stroll down memory lane to find those days when the only things going on behind closed doors in Louisiana's nursing homes were bingo games and quilting parties.

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My, how times have changed!  What Grandma is doing there now will certainly make you blush!

Many would be shocked to know that today, their elderly loved ones are spending their golden years not making quilts, but making whoopie.

Eww, That Means They're Doing The Nasty

And it would appear they aren't doing it "safely." In 2020, forbes.com wrote,

According to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC’s) annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report, cases of several common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have reached historic highs among elderly populations in the U.S. including chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis.

Find that information a little hard to swallow?  Just look at what the website, nursinghomesabuse.org had to say on the matter.

Current data suggests that rates of STDs in Americans age 65 or older have risen by as much as 260 percent since 2008. Many of these affected individuals are residents of nursing homes.

Why Has Our Older Society Become So Sexually Active?

While it's really impossible to isolate one specific factor contributing to these historic numbers of sexually transmitted diseases from America's elderly, nursinghomesabuse.org did point out some variables that are likely candidates.

• STD rates have risen for all ages so the recent surge in those same rates at nursing homes could be related to that overall trend
• Erectile dysfunction medications such as Viagra and hormone therapies for post-menopausal women have allowed individuals 65 or older to engage in sexual activity more frequently.
• Many nursing home residents may have inadequate education on safe sexual practices.
• Older women may assume that because they can no longer become pregnant, they do not need to practice safe sex
• Nursing home residents as a whole may be unaware of the potential risk for STD transmittance among their population.
• Social stigma about sexual activity in the older population may also discourage nursing home residents from addressing the issue or seeking medical help if they suspect they have an STD. This results in an inadequate institutional response to an STD outbreak among a nursing home population, which only causes the situation to worsen.

Louisiana Ranks as One of the Worst States For STDs in the Country

The numbers pertaining to Louisiana specifically are frightening.  A story from nola.com shows that the CDC has ranked Louisiana as having the highest rate of chlamydia in the entire country with a staggering 36,200 cases in 2022 alone.

Granted, these cases were certainly not entirely relegated to our older demographics, but as the findings above disclosed, it's highly likely that the overall growth trend would extend to the elderly and those residing in nurse care facilities.

Someone's going to have to tell Paw Paw to keep his pants zipped.