Health startups are changing the mindset of the society on sexual health. Image Credit source: freepik
Shubham often had the habit of watching porn four times a week. He had been struggling with this habit for a long time, but he was hesitant to talk about it to anyone. After getting information from the internet, when he came to know that he was addicted to porn, even then he could not muster the courage to consult a doctor about it. Eventually a health app helped her, where she openly talked about it with the doctor. Then he came to know that he has been suffering from problems like depression and anxiety for a long time.
This story can be of many of us boys, while in the case of girls it can be related to some other sexual problem. But in Indian society it is very difficult to talk about sexual problem or any related topic, but now this condition is changing. Many health startups have changed this whole system. Many things related to this are surprising.
Keep information, otherwise you will get trapped in the trap of ‘secret disease’
There is no major survey about sexual wellness in India. The National Family Health Survey also mainly conducts a sample survey of mother-child health, fertility rate and sexually transmitted diseases. In such a situation, it is difficult to get the correct data of diseases and treatment related to it. However, in recent times there has been a change regarding this.
There has been an increase in the number of visits to doctors for counseling and treatment regarding sexual wellness among the young population of 24 to 30 years living in big cities. Whereas in small towns, people still resort to old ideas and methods in this regard, and ‘secret disease’ clinics take advantage of this like cukkamuttas. According to an estimate, the number of such illegal clinics across the country is more than 60,000.
Health apps are increasing the scope of society’s thinking
Health apps like Practo in the country are breaking the hesitation related to sexual wellness. It is easy to talk about sexual health with doctors on these apps. People get photo sharing, chatting options. At the same time, an appointment can also be booked with the doctor as per your convenience. In such a situation, these apps are increasing the scope of thinking of the society. In a 2020 survey of Practo, many shocking facts related to this have come to light…
- Gynecology and sexual wellness are discussed in 41 percent of online consultations with doctors.
- Of all sexual wellness inquiries, 46 percent are made by men and 54 percent by women.
- People in the age group of 21 to 30 years make 72 percent of the inquiries regarding sexual wellness. After this comes the number of people in the age group of 31 to 40 years.
- Sexual wellness related inquiries are increasing at the rate of 196 percent every year in the top-7 cities of the country.
- 70 percent of the consultations done on sexual wellness across the country are done from Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai.
- Sexual health is the biggest concern among people in non-metro cities.
Some similar figures were shared by another Bengaluru-based health startup ‘Allo Health’ last year. For this, the company had conducted a survey among 35,000 people in 431 cities of 34 states.
- Aloe Health found that 84 percent of people suffering from problems like anxiety were found to be victims of sexual disorder.
- 78 percent people did not even understand basic sex education.
