Does Sex Ends After 60? Truths and Myths

Are you too old to have sex? Stay tuned to find out.

This podcast is for you. The modern man. I'm Dr. Anne Truong, your host. I'm an intimate health medical doctor and best selling author of the book Erectile Dysfunction Fix. I'll do a deep dive into sexual health and performance and how it affects men of all ages and backgrounds. So let's get started and be sure to visit my website@sexualhealthformenpodcast.com for more information and resources from the show. See you on the inside.

Four myth to having sex as you age when it comes to sexual activity when we were younger, we're probably focused on birth control and finding time to enjoy sex because you're either working and you have kids, but then things change when you get older. You're retired, you have more time, you're not busy at work, the kids are out of the house, you're like, what do I do with my free time? Well, how about more time to think about having sex? But there are challenges when you get older. So let's talk about the four myths of sex as you get older and aging. So so many of our focus is full of myth because we think that as you get older you shouldn't have sex or you can have sex, but that is farthest from the truth. In fact, recent studies have shown that 60 to 70% of seniors over 65 want to have sex and are having sex. And more than half of the men and women said that are still sexually active and and a third of them are having sex at least twice a month. So there are four misconceptions and myth associated with aging and sex. What is the myth? Number one, there is nothing you can do about normal body changes or medical condition and they all interfere with sexual activity and enjoyment. That is farthest from the truth. Yes, when you get older you do have other medical conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, being overweight, arthritis and heart condition. But that doesn't mean that you cannot have sex. There are other remedies available. Let's discuss one of the most common disease when you get older regard to sexual activity. For women, it is painful intercourse caused by vaginal dryness and changes that happen in the vaginal muscles. Well, there are vaginal lubricants and moisturizer that are available that are water based that can help. And there are also topical estrogen that doesn't go systemic that can also help as well too. And this is readily available. So I'm going to put a link in the show Note on vaginal lubricant that I recommend so women hear this loud and clear. You do not have to suffer with painful intercourse of vaginal dryness. There are help available, just ask your doctor as well. There are also pills available as well. And most of them are also insert and you can put down there. There are topicals, so know that there are treatment available. And as for men, if you're experiencing ed, yes, there are ED medication, but there are also other alternative as well. Even just looking at fixing the foundation of your body, such as keeping your health and losing some weight with a proper diet and exercise and sleep. If you do that, it may go a long way before you start popping the ED medication. Because when you take ED medication is really just treating the symptom, is patting the problem and not treating the cause of the problem. Almost like if you take ED medication is like you have a car that has engine problem. All you do is just adding a fresh coat of paint on the car. But you're really not fixing the problem with the engine. So your body is the engine, your body is the foundation. Try to fix that first. How do you fix it? You fix it with diet, with eating a healthy diet with full of fruits and vegetables and lean meat, such as a Mediterranean diet. I'll put that in the show notes and. And then exercising like 30 minutes three times a week. You don't have to do it every day. Get adequate sleep and stress management, stop smoking. And also I did an episode on the five food to avoid and the five food to eat for power erection. Follow that. Because fixing your engine, your body goes a long way versus if you take an ED medication such as Viagra or Cialis. It's only going to work temporarily. And you're going to find that over the years it's not going to work anymore. And what's next, Trimix or what's next, a penile implant. But if you start fixing your engine and your foundation, your body, you're going to notice that it's going to go long term, is really treating the root cause of the problem. Because you will find out that if you do the four pillars like I mentioned, with diet, exercise, sleep and stress reduction, you may even lose a little bit of weight. You can get off of your blood pressure medicine, get off of your cholesterol medicine, can even improve blood flow as well too. So don't underestimate the four pillars of health. Now, myth number two, sex causes heart attack. Well, sex is a rare trigger of heart attack. We actually see that more in the movies than anything else. Medical experts calculate that the risk of heart attack for a 50 year old man who exercises regularly is one in a million. And if that risk triple if he is engaging in sexual activity in 3 to 1 million. But he had to be engaging in sexual activity for two hours to be at the risk of three in a million. Now you had a heart attack. You definitely need to talk to your doctor when you can engage in sexual activity as well. Not the risk of having a heart attack and having another heart attack during sexual activity. It's between 10 to 30 in a million. But again, one of the gauges that if you can walk up a flight of stairs and not be short of breath, then it should be fairly safe. But again, always check with your heart doctor first before you engage in sexual activity. Now, if you have heart conditions, as long as you're not experiencing symptoms of chest pain, shortness of breath or irregular heartbeat or nausea indigestion, you can engage in sexual activity. But if you are experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, irregular heartbeat or nausea indigestion, then you shouldn't engage in sexual activity. Again, always speak with your doctor first. Now myth number three, Sex isn't important when you get older or that is farthest from the truth. Sexual health and intimacy is so important no matter how old you are. Sex may be different as you age, but it is still be fulfilling and enjoyable. A satisfying sex life is as important as general health, as important as for quality of life. So if you need to navigate the topic, talk with your doctor. So most of the time it's probably a physical condition that may be limiting you and that a doctor may just be able to do some blood work and analyze what is going on with you. And my last episode I said only 17% of patient discussed about sexual health with their doctor because of the sensitive nature of the subject and even doctor themselves may not be comfortable in discussing that. So if you're a patient you're listening to this initiate conversation with your doctor and the doctor you're listening to this initiate conversation with your patient. Because sexual health should should be the fifth vital sign and it should be a normal part of history and examination. So number four, older adult don't have to worry about sexually transmitted disease. Actually age does not protect you from sexual transmitted disease or std. In fact, STD infection is rising in older populations, especially population over 60 65. Conditions such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis are rising because of more casual sex and also dating app. So having said that you can still get std, go see your doctor and get evaluated. Now one of the things that elderly patients have a higher percentage of STD is because they're living longer and the more mucous membrane or the tissue that needs lubrication changing. And it's not as protective as it was when they were younger as well too. But there are treatment that are available and medication that is available to treat the std. I remember when my parents were alive and they would close the door and pretend like nothing is happening and. And I was at home from college and I myself never thought about my parents as having sex. And now that I'm older, in my 50s, I know exactly what they're doing. But at that time in my mind they were too old to have sex. But that is probably farther from the truth. So having said that, I truly believe that you can have enjoy sexual activity to the day you die. I have seen it in my patient in their 70s, their 80s and 90s, still enjoying a robust sex life. And it can be done. So take care of your penis, your vagina, as you would take care of your teeth. You floss it, you brush it, you maintain it. Same thing with your sexual organ, use it or you will lose it. Take care of it. How do you take care of it? Maintaining good blood flow to it. And how do you maintain good blood flow? Diet, exercise, sleep and decreasing stress. If you just focus on one of that, that will go a long way. As in anything, if you take care of your body, it will take care of you. And not necessarily taking a medication will take care of everything. Sometimes you got to take care of your body, your engine and your foundation so that way it can take care of you when you get older. So having said that, I hope you enjoyed this episode. I would appreciate it if you like subscribe and comment and share this episode with the people that you love because I'm adamant to express that you can have sexual activity to the day you die. Let's create a sexual revolution together to enable men and women to regain our sexual independence so that way we can enjoy sexual activity until the day day that we die. And so I will link the Mediterranean diet and good morning smoothie in the show note and check out my modern man club. It's a space where I coach you, where you get to ask me live questions when I coach you to get out of Ed to restore sexual functioning again. Check out the Modern man club@noedman.com I'll see you in the next episode. And take care Modern Man Are you struggling and frustrated in finding a solution for ed? Well, I have just a thing for you. It's called the Modern Man Club led by yours truly Dr. Ann. Together we're redefining male sexuality and embracing a holistic approach to overcoming ed. Without medication or surgery. I will provide a protective and environment for community and proven strategy to overcoming ed. It is a safe place. Expert coaching by me and my team. We provide holistic approach to overcoming ED and an empowering community of men with ED supporting one another and lots and lots of educational resources. Visit mensexuality club.com at the link here on my right and connect with us and reclaim control over your sexual health. I'll see you there.

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