DIRTY and well over thirty, Ireland's over-50s are experiencing the less than pleasant consequences of their sexual freedom.
Health experts in the Emerald Isle have noted that sexual health campaigns have targeted young adults, while cases of syphilis and gonorrhea among older people have exploded in recent years.
While it is often said that young people feel invincible, Cork Sexual Health Centre Manager, Catherine Kennedy, told the Irish Sunday Mirror, those over 50 appeared to believe they were immune to the consequences of engaging with multiple partners.
"There can be a huge misunderstanding when it comes to sexually transmitted infections in adults in their 50s, 60s and 70s," she said.
"Just because they may not have had many sexual partners they might feel that they aren't at risk.
"They received little or no formal sex education [and] therefore they don't have the same knowledge."
Kennedy has called for campaigns to normalise STI screening to curb the rapidly rising problem, which has seen a 130% increase in the number of cases of gonorrhea in the last three years in Ireland.
Pharmacist, Laura Dowling, said the spike in STIs came as no surprise as condom sales slumped over the last few years, saying "they seem to be going out of fashion".
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