If you are over 50 and active in the dating scene, you might find this article interesting.
While researching sites for my mom about dating, I stumbled upon these facts about at-home STD testing kits for adults and the stigma behind getting an infection and getting treatment for it.
This information made me call my mother—single and ready to mingle and not yet 60, she’s a beautiful, vibrant woman. I’m her oldest, and we’ve struck a new level in our relationship that includes sharing some details about her dating life, which led me to share this with her.
Like some of her girlfriends, my mom is trying to find love; she’s mentioned signing up for Silver Singles with no luck and even Christian Mingle but lately has been finding potential guys on Match.com.
As a culture, we reserve our thoughts of romance and sexual relationships for the youth, but in reality, the desires don’t simply go away as we get older; they evolve, and as the world embraces the digital era, dating has followed this lead.
15% of baby boomers believe that dating sites are the best places to meet someone to date. 57% are comfortable using dating sites. According to Pew Research, 85% of boomers use the internet, and 11% of those primarily use their phones for access.
50% of the U.S. population will get an STD in their lifetime. However, less than half of U.S. adults have never completed a comprehensive STD screen other than HIV, which leaves more common infections undetected and at epidemic infection rates.
This study was fascinating because it answered some questions about other age groups’ sex lives and mentioned that adults over the age of 40 have the lowest rates of condom use. Condom use is higher among Black and Hispanic Americans than white Americans and other age groups, which has caused a spike in STDs among older adults. However, since the mature age group isn’t worried about pregnancy, they have a similar attitude about sexual relationships. Like the 20-year-old age group, they lack proper education about STD risks and prevention.
About 3 million Americans have hepatitis C, contracted from infected blood, leading to liver cancer. Baby Boomers (born from 1945 to 1965) are five times more likely to have hepatitis C, and most don’t know they have it and aren’t currently getting the necessary medical care. So the CDC is recommending that ALL baby boomers screen for Hep C.
Keep in mind that Hep C symptoms in females may be faint and it is sometimes referred to as a “silent” infection until the virus damages your liver enough to cause symptoms of liver disease, which includes
- Bleeding easily
- Bruising easily
- Fatigue
- Poor appetite
- Jaundice in the skin and eyes
- dark-colored urine
- Itchy skin
- Fluid buildup in your abdomen
- Swelling in your legs
- Weight loss
- Confusion, drowsiness, and slurred speech
- Spiderlike blood vessels on your skin
Culturally, since the baby boomers came of age, sex has undergone many transformations, both pharmaceutically and technologically.
According to the CDC, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis cases have increased every year since 2016, with last year being the highest ever. In the 65 years and older group, syphilis saw roughly a 60% increase between 2014 and 2018, and gonorrhea has more than doubled.
They recommend expedited partner therapy (EPT) to prevent your partner from reinfecting you after treatment, which is the medical practice of providing medicine and instruction for treatment of STDs if your partner lacks access to timely help by themselve
Where to Get an At-Home STD Test?
myLab Box is the first and only nationwide at-home testing and treatment service. They have comprehensive STD panels with 14 tests, hepatitis C, cervical cancer screening, women’s health, and more. All the kits come with confidential doctor consultation and counseling if you get positive results.
California became the first state to require health insurance plans to cover at-home tests for sexually transmitted infections such as HIV, chlamydia, and syphilis. They say it has raged nearly unchecked since the public health departments have focused on Covid-19.
The rule is part of a broader law addressing the STI epidemic, taking effect this January 1 for people with state-regulated private insurance and starting later this year for millions of low-income Californians enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program.
This makes it easier and cheaper to self-administer tests in the privacy of your own home. With this being the first of its kind, the state’s program – Medi-Cal, isn’t ready yet.
If you’re a Florida resident, you can visit one of the confidential STD field offices for free regardless of your citizenship status or age. They provide STD assessment and testing, including HIV testing. If you have an STD, you’ll receive treatment during the visit and be given a prescription to purchase medicine for treatment. You’ll probably have to speak to some counselors about reducing sexual risk and STDs, but it is worth it if you suspect you have an infection.
You can also search for a testing center.
![This is sponsored content. SeniorAffair.com has partnered with Care.com, and this post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase or sign up through these links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. As always, our recommendations reflect what we genuinely believe will help our readers. Quick answer: Care.com is an online marketplace where you can search for in-home senior caregivers by the exact skills your family needs—companionship, meal prep, medication reminders, dementia support, and more—compare rates and reviews, and message or video-interview candidates before hiring. You can even search for senior living communities. Every individual caregiver starts with a required background check, though families should still do their own additional vetting. Care.com membership starts at $12.99/month. Key Takeaways Care.com lets you filter caregivers by specific skills—meal prep, transportation, personal care, dementia support, and more. Every individual caregiver starts with a required background check, plus Care.com offers a 24/7 safety hotline. Membership starts at $12.99/month. The Senior Care Advisor service pairs you with a master's-level social worker for a personalized care plan if you're not sure what type of care is right for your loved one. It usually happens fast. A fall in the kitchen. A diagnosis that changes everything. A phone call from a hospital you weren't expecting. One day you're checking in on Mom or Dad the way you always have, and the next you're trying to figure out, in a matter of days, who's going to help them get dressed, remember their medication, or simply not be alone all day. If that sounds familiar, you're not alone—and you're not behind. Most families who search for senior care do so under pressure, not because they waited too long, but because caregiving needs rarely arrive on a convenient timeline. The good news is that the search itself doesn't have to be another source of stress. Here's how Care.com can help, and what to know before you start. What Is Care.com, and How Does It Help With Senior Care? Care.com is an online marketplace that connects families with caregivers for in-home senior care, along with options like senior living communities and adult day programs. Instead of working through a stack of business cards from a hospital discharge folder or asking around your neighborhood group chat, you can search caregiver profiles by the specific skills your family needs, plus get additional safety and hiring tools to make the process easier. Whether your loved one needs help with meal prep, transportation, light housekeeping, personal care, medication reminders, companionship, or dementia support, you can search for caregivers who list that exact experience, then compare hourly rates, bios, and ratings and reviews left by other families. [INTERNAL LINK: our guide to signs a parent needs in-home care] How Do You Search for a Caregiver on Care.com? The process is straightforward: post a job describing your family's needs, and caregivers apply directly to you. You can search by skills, experience, and hourly rate to find a care that fits your needs and your budget. You must be a member to message and hire. Video interviews are built into the platform, so you can screen someone before sharing your address or inviting them into your parent's home. You can compare multiple caregivers side by side before making any commitment—no pressure to decide on the spot. Is Care.com Safe? What the Required Background Check Covers Every individual caregiver on Care.com's platform starts with a required background check. Care.com also monitors job posts and messages, operates a 24/7 safety hotline, and provides tips and resources to help families make safer hiring choices—you can learn more at care.com/safety. That said, a background check is an important start—not the full picture. We always encourage families to conduct their own additional vetting: talk with caregivers directly, check references, ask detailed questions about experience with your loved one's specific needs, and trust your instincts during video interviews before anyone sets foot in the home. It's also worth taking a few minutes to verify the details in any caregiver profile or job posting, since families are ultimately responsible for confirming that information is accurate. What Does Care.com Cost for Senior Care? As of 2026, Care.com's premium membership for families starts at $12.99/month, depending on the length of the plan you choose—you can search by skills, experience, and hourly rate to find care that fits your needs and your budget. What Is the Care.com Senior Care Advisor Service? For families who feel stuck before they've even started—who don't know whether Mom needs a few hours of help a week or a full conversation about assisted living—Care.com also offers Senior Care Advisor. For a one-time fee, you get 90 days of access to a dedicated advisor, a master's-level social worker, who gets to know your family's situation on a consultation call and then delivers a personalized care plan by email, along with researched local resources and next steps. The intake process is short—about five minutes to answer a handful of questions ahead of time—followed by a 30-minute consultation. From there, your advisor sends a detailed plan within a few days that covers everything from in-home care and senior living communities to navigating Medicare, Medicaid, and veteran's benefits, and even how to have hard conversations with siblings about splitting responsibilities. [INTERNAL LINK: our Medicare/Medicaid senior care coverage guide] It's designed for exactly the moment so many of us find ourselves in: knowing something has to change, but not knowing where to begin—and not wanting to figure it out completely alone. → Learn more about the Senior Care Advisor on Care.com You're Not the Only One Feeling This If you're the adult child juggling this search alongside a job, your own kids, and a life that already felt full, the guilt of "should I be doing this myself" is real. So is the exhaustion of not knowing where to even start looking. Those feelings are common, not a sign you're falling short. Having a structured way to search—filtered by the specific help your loved one needs, backed by reviews from families who've been exactly where you are—takes some of that weight off, even if it doesn't remove it entirely. How to Get Started on Care.com You don't need to have everything figured out to start searching. You can browse caregiver profiles freely, get a feel for who's available in your area, and filter by exactly what your family needs—whether that's someone a few hours a week for companionship or more consistent daily support. When you're ready, you can become a member to message caregivers, schedule video interviews, and compare your options side by side before hiring. Caregiving decisions are personal, and they rarely feel simple. But having a clear, organized way to search—instead of piecing it together from scratch—can make a genuinely hard season a little more manageable. Because while you want to care for everyone you love, it can't always be you. When it's not you, it's Care.com™. Frequently Asked Questions About Care.com for Senior Care Is Care.com legit for finding senior care? Yes. Care.com is a long-running online marketplace connecting families with caregivers, including for senior and adult care. Every individual caregiver starts with a required background check, and the platform offers safety monitoring and a 24/7 safety hotline—though families should still do their own vetting before hiring. How much does Care.com cost for senior care? As of 2026, a Care.com membership starts at $12.99/month, depending on the length of the plan you choose. Does every caregiver on Care.com have a background check? Yes—every individual caregiver on Care.com's platform starts with a required background check. Families are still encouraged to do additional vetting, such as checking references and conducting video interviews, since a background check is a starting point rather than a full screening on the family's behalf. What is Care.com Senior Care Advisor? It's a paid, one-time service that gives you 90 days of access to a dedicated advisor—typically a master's-level social worker—who builds a personalized care plan for your family, covering options like in-home care, senior living, and navigating Medicare and Medicaid. It also includes 90 days of Care.com membership. Can I find caregivers with memory care or dementia experience on Care.com? Yes. You can search for memory care and dementia experience and compare reviews from other families who've hired caregivers for similar needs. Does Care.com offer senior living community listings? Care.com's core search focuses on in-home caregivers, but it also provides information on options outside the home, including senior living communities and adult day programs. → Start your search on Care.com Disclaimer: Care.com does not employ or place caregivers, provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, or engage in any conduct that requires a professional license, including in connection with certain senior caregiving services. Families are encouraged to verify the accuracy of information in caregiver profiles, job postings, and other areas of the site. Pricing is subject to change; confirm current rates on Care.com directly. "Care.com" and "When it's not you, it's Care.com™" are service marks or registered service marks of Care.com, Inc](https://senioraffair.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/How-to-Find-Senior-Care-for-a-Parent-A-Practical-Guide-to-Getting-Started-218x150.jpeg "How to Find Senior Care for a Parent: A Practical Guide to Getting Started")
