You are your safest sex partner during Covid-19

It is a difficult time for lovers.

In these very uncertain and very anxious times where we live, many people are intimate with their partners because they can be exposed to the deadly Covid-19 coronavirus just by touching or kissing You may wonder how safe it is to be.

City Press has spoken to sexual scientist Marlene Wasserman, commonly known as Dr. Eve, this week on how to navigate sexual and intimate relationships during Covid-19.

Sex and trauma

“This occurrence of Covid-19 is certainly a traumatic event,” said Wasserman. Her research in interpersonal neurobiology reveals to her that “our brain is responding in a” very typical “way of trauma.”

“People react differently to trauma. From a neurobiological point of view, people react differently-fight, flee, freeze,” she explained.

And trauma definitely affects gender and intimacy.

2009 study published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics on women’s reproductive health following a 2008 large-scale traumatic earthquake in Sichuan, China-8.0 on the Richter scale-women’s satisfaction Recorded findings about the decline in life.

Gynecologists surveyed 170 women using a questionnaire for symptoms of reproductive tract infections, menstrual disorders, sexual satisfaction, and fertility needs.

Researchers have noted that women’s satisfaction with sexual life after the earthquake has declined significantly.

At least 89.4% of them said they would not pursue plans to get pregnant, and 67.1% said they would require abortion if they became pregnant.

According to Wasserman: “Some people become very anxious, vigilant, and vigilant. In their survival mode, they are sexual because all the energy of the brain is spent keeping them alive. Interest in is low

“Others turn to being sexual, seeking comfort and being safe and secure.”

She also said that studies have shown that the nature of the couple’s intimacy has changed in times of conflict and trauma-from having to do non-duty acts to renewing the strength of those relationships. Moved.

“I work around a lot with couples who have several different ways of dealing with trauma.

“Because one may be more distressed and be comfortable knowing where others are always, the other may be farther away and require timeouts and privacy, You will not be able to manage the anxiety of others and will tolerate those differences between each other during the trauma, “she said.

But if you know that the virus can spread primarily through respiratory droplets, which are generated when someone sneezes or coughs, and can live on the surface for hours or days, people have sex. Should it be?

“Covid-19 is highly contagious via the tactile sensations and can get it through the salivary droplets, so if you have a sexual relationship with someone infected, avoid it I can’t do that, “said Wasserman.

This was why the experts recommended that you only be sexual with someone who lives with you in lockdown.

“In other words, everyone else, including new and additional partners, is at high risk of being infected and is really dangerous.

read: Reconnect with partners with lockdown

“We also know that asymptomatic people can transmit the virus, and that if Covid-19 is locked down, it needs to be safe from contact, I know I need to be isolated in another room, “she added.

More than 7,000 deaths were recorded by Thursday in New York State, the epicenter of the United States Covid-19 outbreak.

Last month, the New York City Health Authority encouraged self-joy by saying, “You are your safest sex partner” in a guide titled “Sex and Coronavirus Disease.”

Wasserman also said that the pandemic provided the couple with a truly important opportunity to talk about their values ​​and build a new agreement to build trust.

“I think it’s a good time to talk about what the couple values ​​in a romantic relationship.

“Do you value honesty, do you value trust and how do you establish it when we are released to the world?

“To know that you are not taking unnecessary risks, being socially separated, and being very strict in protecting yourself from getting or getting infected It’s important, it could be a new state of being sexual. “

She adds further. “If there’s someone who is cheating and can’t wait to be sexual after lockdown, that’s going to be a big problem. You go out and do it ethically or morally Do you feel ok and then go home? “