The use of methamphetamine had a “boom among gay men in the Covid-19 pandemic”, said infectious disease specialist Rico Vasconcelos, in an interview with CNN Radio at the CNN no Plural+.
“We don’t have solid numbers, but an easy thing to see that use has increased is to see psychiatrists and infectious diseases doctors’ offices filling with people with drug disorders,” he said.
According to the specialist, the escalation of cases of dependence is related to the lack of personal interaction during the isolation of the pandemic.
“Without open socializing places, many people ended up starting or increasing psychoactive substance use.”
Vasconcelos says that a part of the population of gay and bisexual men uses substances such as methamphetamine as a sexual stimulant, in the practice called “chemsex”.
“People start out with this goal of improving sexual performance, but they become addicted.”
In this way, users start to have losses in their personal and health lives.
“This population gets used to having sex without being able to manage vulnerability to sexually transmitted infections, such as condom use.”
The treatment, according to the doctor, is “complex and individualized”: “He goes through follow-up with a psychiatrist, use of medication to contain the craving, and psychotherapy to re-signify sex and in some cases hospitalization may be an option”.
Source: CNN Brasil
