When health changes your sex life, intimacy doesn’t have to disappear

(Aging Untold) — Health changes don’t just affect the body — they can reshape confidence, connection and communication between partners. The Aging Untold experts tackle the questions many couples are afraid to ask out loud: When is it safe to resume sex? What if it isn’t? And what should you ask your doctor? Start with what’s changing — and why Sam Cradduck, a gerontologist, said the first step is figuring out what’s behind the change. “What’s changing it and why is it changing?” Cradduck said. Cradduck noted that competency and consent are the first things to consider. “Is it a matter of competency and consent? And if it is, then it’s off the table,” Cradduck said. “I’m not talking about lucidity. I’m saying if somebody cannot consent, then sex is off the table at that point. It’s not consensual.” Cradduck added that for physical issues, like erectile dysfunction, a doctor can often help. “Seeing a doctor can absolutely take care of it, and take care of things that are before, that ar