Sex during a pandemic: sales of contraceptives are on the rise

The Indian publication Devdiscourse reports that sales of contraceptives are growing, and links this to the coronavirus pandemic.

"All you need is love" was sung by the Beatles in the 1960s, and it seems to have become the mantra for couples, young and old, living in their homes away from offices, clubs, parties and other similar entertainment during the troubled times of the coronavirus.

The unprecedented coronavirus pandemic has not only caused widespread alarm, but has also brought couples closer together who, usually busy in their daily lives, do not find opportunities to spend more time together.

Many thousands of couples are rediscovering each other as cities and towns across the country went into lockdown. Because of this increased proximity, many pharmacies as well as e-commerce sites are reporting increased sales of condoms and birth control pills.

Thus, the demand has increased not only for food, masks and medicines, but also for contraceptives. "Our supply of masks has run out. Many people are demanding antiseptics and vitamin C. And condom sales have also increased," says Shah Nawaz of Loyal Pharmacy in south Delhi.

An employee of another pharmacy in central Delhi, who did not want to give his name, confirms this. While many people are stocking up on hydroxychloroquine sulfate as a possible treatment for COVID-19, condom sales have "increased significantly," he said. Sources at the leading e-commerce site also said online sales of contraceptives have jumped.

"During wars and epidemics, the level of intimacy among sexual partners rises," says Rajiv Mehta, consultant psychiatrist at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH). Given the increased sexual activity of the population, a kind of "baby boom" due to the coronavirus can be expected in December 2020.

"People are worried and living at home. Men and women in couples who were too busy with their professional lives now have enough time to turn their attention to each other. In this way, the intimacy increases and this situation is similar to wartime ". "Fatigue is one of the reasons why married couples in big cities don't have regular sex. Now people are returning to a normal sex life, he says.

Nikita Srivastava (26) and Gaurav Mathur (29), a couple living in Ghaziabad, say they learned more about each other during this "home period". “We used to have different shifts in our offices, but now we spend more time with each other. We discussed this with our doctor, and he believes that it makes no sense to refuse intimate relationships if we are both not infected with the virus, says Nikita. According to Gaurav, the situation is "actually good" for them as a couple. And it's not just about having more sex than before. We have reached a new level in communication, we have become more trusting of each other. We talk, discuss, we plan our future, share secrets. I find so many interesting things in it that I could not even imagine before. I think that now we are at a higher level of relations," he said.

Jinia Ghosh, 28, who got married last year, shared that she is under a lot of stress and worries all the time. "I can't help myself. Sometimes there is a racing heart and an aching feeling of unease, this feeling of an apocalyptic situation when we see death everywhere in the world," she says

The urban psychologist, who did not want to be named, believes that sales of erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra and menstruation-slowing medications will also increase as society progresses.