MIDDLE-AGED swingers are contributing to a dramatic rise in the number of people testing positive for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Limerick City over the past five years, according to the Limerick Family Planning Clinic.
One of the clinic’s doctors, Dr Angela Kelly, revealed that cases of STIs are increasing among all age groups in the city and county – including a growing number of middle-aged ‘swingers’.
She explained: “There has definitely been an increase in Limerick. People aren’t realising how serious the situation is. It’s across the board, people of all ages, but we are seeing people in their 20s and 30s in particular.
“Another thing we’re coming across, and something that’s new to me is swingers; it’s very much on the up in Limerick. The people engaging in this are in their 40s and 50s, it’s not the young people.”
The clinic was unable to provide exact figures for positive STI results, however Dr Kelly believes that the number of chlamydia cases is steadily rising, along with gonorrhea and HIV.
One in eight people undergoing STI screening in Limerick tested positive for chlamydia five years ago, but currently this figure may be as high as one in four.
She added: “Chlamydia of course leads to infertility and you sometimes get people wondering later on in life why they can’t conceive, and that’s another thing we have to deal with.“
“This isn’t a lower class thing, it crosses all sorts of people, including educated people. People think ‘It can’t happen to me’. They can be very complacent; sometimes when they test positive and we give them medication you see them coming in three weeks later testing positive again.
“I would ask people to wear a condom, because they’re really not doing that. Some people think they can just get an antibiotic and it’ll be all gone. Others drink too much or take too many drugs; when they come in they admit that they haven’t a clue who they’ve been with.”
