Circumcision, help please?

[Marie D]

Do you know where a solid source says this? This would be of great interest to me. Thanks.

It was the urology (sp?) surgeon who circumcised my husband. He wasn't a small child at the time but an adult. When he got erections it caused him pain and eventually, very embarrassed, he asked for help. He had 4-5 friends who also needed surgery for foreskin-related problems so the 1 in 8 thing probably is about right.

 

[Linnis]

I watched an Ep of Dr. 90210, where men had to have corrective surgeries because of "over aggressive" circs. They too had pain during sex because too much skin was removed so the penis couldn't funtion properly - so I think problems can swing both ways.

 

[Cright]

Here are some links I saved.

John and I are having our first baby EDD 10/29/06.

He's a boy and his name will be Peter Franklyn! We're very excited, but of course we need to discuss options, pros and cons and come up with a decision based on the most knowledge we can find out. I'm glad this thread is going, I think it's an excellent topic for parents of boys to discuss.

http://www.circumcision.org/
http://familydoctor.org/042.xml
http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/ncare/0,,3q6t,00.html
http://health.msn.com/pregnancykids/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100050813
http://www.babyhealth.co.za/circumcision.html
http://www.circumcisioninfo.com/fern.htm
http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/surgical/circumcision.html

Good luck with your research ladies.

 

[Sascha Fitzpatrick]

Another day of urology theater - ewww...

The more I go in there, the more it convinces me to circumcise!!

Probably going to be deleted cos it's too graphic - but all of the non-circ'd looked REALLY clean. That was until I had to push back the to do a proper prep.

Yuck, all that dead skin in nether region build up can't be a good thing...

Sasch

 

[Leanna]

Yuck, all that dead skin in nether region build up can't be a good thing...

I wonder why they don't clean themselves? I mean if women dont clean themself they can get build up too. So what are these men thinking? Of course some people have nasty BO too and don't take a shower Oh hey wait, you aren't in the US.... do people there take daily showers? I hear the US is "freakish" about taking daily showers

 

[EmSchmem]

We circumscised Levi because his endocrine conditions make it harder for him to fight infection (of any kind) should he get one. It was a fairly rushed decision and not the only decision we had to make at the time. We are happy we did. It wasn't enough to make us circumscise him alone but we're both glad that he looks like his dad.

 

[katelyn]

Another day of urology theater - ewww...

The more I go in there, the more it convinces me to circumcise!!

Probably going to be deleted cos it's too graphic - but all of the non-circ'd looked REALLY clean. That was until I had to push back the to do a proper prep.

Yuck, all that dead skin in nether region build up can't be a good thing...

Maybe that's how they ended up needing to be there (lack of proper hygiene).

 

[Sascha Fitzpatrick]

It just amazes me though, cos we're generally a 'clean' society - everyone washes every day - and these guys themselves would be considered 'clean', based on general fingernails/toes, skin, all of that.

It was only when I retract that foreskin (we have to when prepping) that you see how much dead skin in nether region build up there is.

And it's all different age groups too - I see men who are in their twenties, right up to men in their 80/90s.

It surprises me too - especially considering everyone talks about 'oh I'm going to teach them to be clean', because I've never yet seen a uncirc'd guy (and I've been doing urology for 5 years now) without a considerable build up of dead skin in nether region.

I just don't think it's healthy, so it's really shaped my opinion as a result. I know it's all anecdotal (shaped on experience rather than journals), but it's interesting.

Sasch

 

[Leanna]

That is "interesting"

katlyn has a point thats maybe why they are there.... and if you can retract it, so could they. I would never shower without washing my....self.

Anyway I am still undecided on this matter, its really bugging me. I just can't decide. I don't have to right now, but its still bugging me.

 

[Mling]

I suspect it has to do with being "abnormal" in America. Every girl has the same bits, so we all get the "wipe front to back, and be sure to wash" when we're old enough to start taking care of such things for ourselves. An circ-ed man doesn't have much of that to worry about, and may not think to teach his uncirc-ed son, or even realize that it would be different for him.

 

[Marie D]

I watched an Ep of Dr. 90210, where men had to have corrective surgeries because of "over aggressive" circs. They too had pain during sex because too much skin was removed so the penis couldn't funtion properly - so I think problems can swing both ways.

I think my husband has quite a tight circumcision - when he's, ahem, ready for action, the skin is really tight the whole length along it and it's kind of straining up from the base too - but it hasn't affected its ability to 'function properly', in fact it does that rather well . So I'd imagine the doctors would have to get it very wrong for there to be a need for corrective surgery...

 

[Sascha Fitzpatrick]

Marie - that's actually quite a normal physiological response during an erection - the 'straining'...

 

[AbidingInHim]

My nephew wasn't circumcised becuase my sisters midwife suggested that boys tended to take more time to clean themselves if they weren't.....going on that advise she left both alone. the older boy had to be circumsized later however....i believe he was 11 or 12 at the time.....because the foreskin never retracted all the way..... healing and just going through it was a lot worse when he older....

it's a tough decision....if you do decide to they make a numbing medicine that they can rub on it before hand....I would recommend it....it has to be prescribed by the doctor....but can you imagine going through that without any pain medication....

 

[Marie D]

I'm shocked how many boys have to get circumcised, often in their teens, because of foreskin problems, like roxannacc's nephew and my husband. I think it's cruel not to do it in infancy when this could result in it having to be done later when he's self conscious about both the problem and the operation.

As for the pain angle she mentioned, my husband had a local anaesthetic when his was done, but he said it didn't work (he's the same with dental work - they give him 3-4 times the recommended injections, he can still feel everything, but everyone starts getting stressed including him so he says just go ahead anyway). He said it was more painful than having stitches but less painful than a tooth extraction.

 

[Leanna]

I'm shocked how many boys have to get circumcised, often in their teens, because of foreskin problems, like roxannacc's nephew and my husband. I think it's cruel not to do it in infancy when this could result in it having to be done later when he's self conscious about both the problem and the operation.

The baby is still conscious about the operation and still is in just as much pain. And worse, they sit in their blood and puss as it heals in a diaper where they pee and poop and both touch the wound no matter how careful you try to be. That doesn't happen as a teenager. I went through it with my son. To me that sounds more cruel than a teenage guy having to go through it, where his pee and poop don't touch it as it heals. I guess I'll have to hope for a girl this time, because I am not ready to make a decision either way....

 

[GolfingMom]

The baby is still conscious about the operation and still is in just as much pain. And worse, they sit in their blood and puss as it heals in a diaper where they pee and poop and both touch the wound no matter how careful you try to be. That doesn't happen as a teenager. I went through it with my son. To me that sounds more cruel than a teenage guy having to go through it, where his pee and poop don't touch it as it heals. I guess I'll have to hope for a girl this time, because I am not ready to make a decision either way....

I think part of the difference is by then (teenagers - older child) it's part of their image. As baby doesn't know the difference...a teenager see's a difference and it takes getting used to...

 

[Redguard]

Wow - Am I really going to be the first male to respond to a male genetalia thread?

Leanna, I'm among the group of boys who were not circumicized at birth, but then had to have the procedure done later as a child due to the typical problems that are encountered with insufficient foreskin retraction.

I'm not giving you this fact as a reason to go and circumcize your future sons - I'm just giving you my story so you can know that it happens in some cases.

For the record, my sons will be circumcized at birth.

 

[jgonz]

Part of the reason my DH was so adamant that his boys be circ'd was that he wasn't until he was 8. He had recurrent infections, and his ped finally said to just go ahead and have him circ'd. DH remembers it clearly.

Also, when I was pregnant with my first son, I was talking about the circ issue with my mom, and she told me that my father hadn't been circ'd until a year after they were married! She had recurrent yeast infections, and her GYN told her it was because my dad wasn't circ'd. So, he had the procedure done, and my mom quit getting infections...

We've had all 5 boys circ'd shortly after birth (2 days to 2 wks depending on which boy). We would have Loved to have an 8th day circumcision with a mohel and a bris, but it wasn't an option for any of the boys, unfortunately.

 

[Leanna]

Do either of you last two have any sources showing that it isn't an occasional issue, but common.... the recurring infections, yeast infections, foreskin not retracting right?

 

[jgonz]

No, I"m sorry, I don't have any sources, medical or otherwise, that show it's common. I just know that every time this subject has come up in the 23.5 yrs of being a parent, that it seems the most common for a boy to end up having to be circ'd later on if they weren't at birth.

I know that's not what you're asking for... sorry.