Episode 136: Dating after 40- No glove, no love The Lady Bod Pod

The holiday season brings out all those holiday dinners, invites, and plus 1 invites. When it comes to those family gatherings, you hear the, you’re getting to be too old to be single noise. Now this the time of year people get sensitive about being single. Whether you are re-entering the dating scene after a long hiatus, or maybe just continuing the search for "the right one", your girlfriends, your sister and maybe your mother will have no end of advice on how to meet the love of your life. The last thing you need with a new relationship is a new infection. According to the CDC, the age group in which STI rates are rising most rapidly is adults at midlife and beyond. This is a huge surprise to many people whom seem to think that chlamydia, gonorrhea, HPV and herpes are limited to 20- and 30-year-olds that are having random hook-ups. Most guys hate using condoms - How many of those (lame) excuses have you heard? But Dr. Oakley have seen and treated a lot of infections in women who decided to skip the condom “just this once.” Do not depend on the man to be prepared. The savvy single woman keeps her own stash of male condoms on hand. Be sure they are all marked “extra-large.” *WINK* In this episode, Dr. Oakley and Holly go over some practical steps you can take to minimize your risk like: • Familiarize yourself with the most common STIs, and understand how they are transmitted. • Learn about screening and how to protect yourself, even if a condom is out of the question. • Consider getting an HPV vaccine even if you are over age 45 Thank you for listening. Please send in your comments, questions and suggestions for future topics at TheLadyBodPod@gmail.com. For more details on the LBP: https://theladybodpod.com/