Everybody should take precautions
Dear Annie: I need to comment on the letter from “Married to the Old Goat in Virginia,” whose 70-year-old husband returned home with a prescription for Viagra. She was upset that she’d had no input into this decision. However, this misses a much larger, often overlooked issue.
Anytime one is prescribed a drug to treat erectile dysfunction, it should be accompanied by safer-sex education. Post-menopausal women think they don’t need to use a condom since pregnancy is not an issue, but there has been an alarming increase in HIV infection in older people since these drugs became available.
The Canadian AIDS Society notes that 12 percent of all new HIV infections in Canada in the first half of 2003 were in the 50-plus age group. Thank you for the opportunity to share this vital information with your readers. – Richard S. Ferri, Ph.D., ANP, ACRN, FAAN, Provincetown, Mass.
Dear Dr. Ferri: We appreciate your pointing out that everyone needs to be careful. Our readers were up in arms over this subject. Here’s a sampling:
From Omaha, Neb.: My 55-year-old husband went in for his physical, and his doctor asked him if he wanted Viagra. There was no discussion of need. I think physicians do this because of perks from drug companies. I knew of a man who got Viagra samples so he could molest children. Doctors should not be offering it like candy.
Arizona: This woman sounds like she leads a dreary life and loves it. When I mentioned Viagra to my wife, her response was “Go get it!” She is 69, and I am 70.
Louisville, Ky.: My husband, age 64, got a prescription for Viagra. I didn’t know about it for three months, but he told his girlfriend right away.
Midwest: I’m 56, and my husband suffers from erectile dysfunction. I got up the nerve to ask him about it, hoping he’d speak to his doctor. Instead, he told me he wasn’t interested in sex anymore. I can’t force him to try Viagra, so I am left out of his decision, which affects two people and a marriage.
Florida: My husband often talked about getting Viagra, and I kept saying he didn’t need it. At 76, he has the stamina of a 35-year-old. Still, he came home with Viagra and asked to try it out. I have to say, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!
Colorado: Does that old biddy ask his permission to color her hair or use cosmetics to enhance her self-esteem? I would no more allow my wife to decide about my sexual dysfunction than I would give up reading glasses for her.
Denver: Without sex, men become impatient, horny and depressed. If one person forces another to have sex, it’s called rape. When one person forces her spouse to be celibate, there must be a name for that, too.
Los Angeles: Erectile function defines your sense of masculinity. No one should have to ask his wife if he needs help in that area. She sounds like a dominatrix.
Massachusetts: What many people do not know is that Viagra was first tested as a vessel dilator. I have pulmonary hypertension, and I take Viagra to help lower the pressure. My girlfriend doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Arlington Hts., Ill.: The end result for that 70-year-old will be “all dressed up and no place to go.”