One of the more surprising trends in men’s health isn’t about testosterone or prostate cancer.

It’s sexually transmitted infections.

While rates have fallen in many younger age groups, they’ve been rising among older adults.

At first, that seems hard to understand.

Then you think about it for a minute.

When most of us were younger, condoms were primarily about preventing pregnancy.

Now, for many couples, pregnancy is no longer part of the equation.

The condom quietly disappears.

The irony is that while the reason for using one changed, the need for protection didn’t.

The bacteria haven’t retired just because we did.

There are good reasons this is happening.

People are living longer and healthier lives. Many find love again after divorce or widowhood.

Treatments for erectile dysfunction have allowed many couples to remain sexually active well into later life.

I see all of that as good news.

It also means more people are entering new relationships at an age when nobody ever expected to be thinking about sexually transmitted infections again.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly when many stop thinking about them.

Another challenge is that this often isn’t part of routine medical care.

Most older adults aren’t routinely screened for sexually transmitted infections unless they have symptoms or specific risk factors.

Many physicians don’t bring it up, and many patients assume they’re no longer the people these conversations apply to.

That leaves a gap.

Not because anyone has done something wrong.

Because nobody thought to ask.

If you’re starting a new relationship after fifty, sixty, or seventy, it’s reasonable to have a conversation about sexual health before becoming sexually active.

That doesn’t have to feel awkward or accusatory.

It can be as simple as:

“It’s probably a good idea for both of us to get tested before we stop using condoms.”

Or:

“When was the last time you were screened for sexually transmitted infections?”

Those aren’t questions about trust.

They’re questions about looking after each other.

Depending on your history, your primary care clinician may recommend testing for infections such as HIV, syphilis, hepatitis B or C, chlamydia, or gonorrhea.

The right tests depend on your situation, which is exactly why it’s worth having the conversation rather than guessing.

One of the things I enjoy most about men’s health is seeing men find companionship again after losing a partner or after a difficult divorce.

It’s one of life’s better surprises.

I don’t want concern about infections to take away from that.

I simply don’t want an entire generation to miss a conversation nobody ever told them they might need to have.

When you were younger, condoms were mostly about preventing pregnancy.

Today, they’re mostly about protecting each other.

Sometimes growing older doesn’t change the advice.

It just changes the reason.