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

Sexual Health Sexual Health Basics

Demystifying the Elderly Sex Taboo

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

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: Hi, welcome to our webcast. I'm Dr. Mark Pochapin, and we're going to discuss some of the issues that people have when they get older. But we're not talking about arthritis or chronic lung disease. We're talking about having sex, that is, sex in the elderly. It's really something that doesn't get much attention, but needs to be addressed, because there are new drugs now that are available, and there are things both physiologic and psychosocial, that need to be addressed with people as they get older and start engaging again in sex.

Today I have with us some expert panelists. Sitting to my left is Dr. David Kaufman. He's an assistant professor of clinical urology at Columbia University. Welcome, David. Sitting next to David is Dr. Patricia Bloom. She's Chief of Geriatric Medicine at St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, with us here today. Thank you, Pat. Sitting next to Pat is Dr. Dagmar O'Connor, who is a psychologist, a sex therapist, and the first woman sex therapist to be trained by Masters and Johnson in New York City. Welcome. Appreciate you all with us.

Let's talk about what it means to demystify sex in the elderly. This is not something that gets a lot of attention. David, is it okay for elderly people to have sex?

DAVID KAUFMAN, MD: By all means. I think an important point to make just has to do with an anthropological approach to sex. If we go back in history and we look at other societies, we know that in ancient Egypt, there are hieroglyphics galore, which dealt with sex and sexual positions and sexual issues and sexual problems. The Greeks and the Romans, it's obvious sex was a big part of their society. It's really only our society today, until recently, that sex has been mystified and not spoken about. And it's really only within the last few years that sex is something that is coming on to the open market, that we have television advertisements talking about celebrities who are having sexual problems. So I think we've come a long way in the last few years, and that allows us to have webcasts such as this, which can really help demystify sex for everybody.

MARK POCHAPIN, MD: Pat, are there any benefits in particular that having sex, as someone gets older, that can be seen? Or is it something that you have to worry about with your health?

Page 1 of 2 Next Page >>