Related Programs

Sex and Yeast Infections: Is There a Link? Sex and Intimacy in People Living with MS Reclaiming Your Sexual Life: Treatment Strategies for Erectile Dysfunction Inflatable Penile Pump Implant: Watch the Surgery Erectile Dysfunction: Why Does it Happen? What to Expect From a Penile Pump Implant

Sex After Sixty

Summary & Participants

In many people's eyes, advanced age and sexual intimacy go together like milk and orange juice. But sexuality can be an important part of any loving relationship, no matter how old you are. Join our panel of experts as they discuss popular misconceptions about elder sexuality, as well as why -- and how -- they should change.

Medically Reviewed On: July 06, 2008

Webcast Transcript

But, to elder citizens' credit, I think they're getting much more out front in expressing their interests and their desires, and talking about sex. Of course, that can create some problems too, because there can be a mentality that Oh, well, you have to be having sex in order to be a with-it old person. Some elderly people are just not particularly interested in having intercourse, but, again, I think back to the point that they may be interested in some other aspects of sexuality which they just haven't had occasion to participate in. There's also a problem of whether partners are available to elderly people.

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: Dagmar, when you have an elderly couple, as a sex therapist, what are the main issues that need to be addressed with them?

DAGMAR O'CONNOR, PhD: Some of them that we just talked about is the incest taboo in a family is such that parents don't approve of children's sexuality, children don't approve of parents' sexuality, and parents and children do not approve of grandparents' sexuality. So that the first issue here is to get these grandparents, who are now in sex therapy, and they do weekly touching sessions, and then their children come to visit. They say "We can't do anything."

And I say, "Do you realize, this is your responsibility to lock the bedroom door and have privacy?" Because that's the only sex education there really is. The other is only verbal education. You will give your children and your grandchildren permission to be sexual when they grow older, because they will remember that that bedroom door was locked, and there was some privacy in there. That's important, that every generation will do that.

DAVID KAUFMAN, MD:That's a wonderful point.

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: This taboo issue is so powerful. You're absolutely right when you mention your son. I could just imagine what people would say, years ago, about talking about sexual activity in elderly people. I think we've gotten a little more familiar with it with the advent of some of the drugs, but clearly there's a long way to go.

Let's just talk about some of the problems that could develop. Someone now gets a hold of Viagra. All of a sudden, things change. Something that couldn't happen, can. What has to be, what do you worry about? What about heart disease and lung disease in elderly people, both male and female?

DAVID KAUFMAN, MD:Viagra has certainly gotten a bad rap by the lay press, about all these heart problems and heart attacks, and people dying after taking Viagra. I think the point that needs to be made is that they're not dying from Viagra. They're having myocardial events because they're suddenly engaging in strenuous activities that they weren't engaging in because they were impotent.

<< Previous Page 2 of 3 Next Page >>