Circ on a 2yr old?

navyscrubs · Dec 30, 2006

My former husband said the same thing when we went round and round for days about circing our first boy.
I said, "well, why don't we cut off our children's ears too because they don't do a very good job of cleaning out the ear wax". Actually when you think about it, young children aren't that great at wiping their bums either. And now that I think of it, fingernails are hard to clean, let's just pull them off and avoid the whole cleaning issue.
I also mentioned the pain - he said they wouldn't remember it. I said "well, then it would be ok to burn them with the end of a lit cigarette since they won't remember it".
My former husband was not happy with me . . . I'm kind of plainspoken.
steph

By the way, why would you mention cutting off ears? Circumcision isn't the cutting off of the member.

GardenDove · Dec 30, 2006

I think people make too much of a big deal over this issue. It's not like they are cutting the baby up. It' the cutting of a little bit of skin. It makes them sore for a few days. It heals up really fast. My son was circumcised. He's fine and he's easier to keep clean so he won't get a bad infection. The only issue I really have is that they don't wait eight days. I'm a Christian. The Bible says eight days. The hospital did it the next day.

St Paul directly addressed the issue of circumcision and it is in no way a requirement for a follower of Jesus Christ to be circumsized. It was a big controversy of the early Church. It's part of the old Covenant, but not required for the new.

Nursonegreat · Dec 31, 2006

my husband has a cousin who didnt have it done (reasons i dunno and dont care...) but apparently the boys who saw him called him the headless horseman. kids can be so cruel. that did not influence me but my son was circ'd on the day after birth, i felt so bad for the day but as it healed and he seemed fine, not fussing or anything i felt better..i have no regrets and think this is one less thing to have to worry about in the future, maybe one less name he'll be called. yes, done for cosmetic reasons as we are not religious. i still feel like a good mom

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Dec 31, 2006

My son was not circumsized at birth because we choose against it. As luck would have it he suffered from phimosis and at age 2 and a half he had to be circ'd. He was m-i-s-e-r-a-b-l-e. He couldn't even wear underwear for over 3 weeks. He would cry and cry. My pee pee hurts. At that age a circ requires stitches all the way around the head of the member. He's 17 now and doesn't remember a thing about it but at the time is was very difficult for all of us.

I have to tell you one cute thing. When we were trying to explain to him what was going to be done we told him "when you get home your member will look like Daddy's", his eyes got so big and I said what wrong...he said "no Mommy that's way to big for me"!

lovemyjob · Jan 7, 2007

I think people make too much of a big deal over this issue. It's not like they are cutting the baby up. It' the cutting of a little bit of skin. It makes them sore for a few days. It heals up really fast. My son was circumcised. He's fine and he's easier to keep clean so he won't get a bad infection.quote]
Circs are no longer recommended by the AAP because they are unnecessary. Since there has been a lot more research in the recent years on pain and the neonate, they have found that boys who were circd cried longer when they got their vaccines throughout childhood Because of the pain perception changes related to the synapse in the brain created. There can also be developmental changes as a result of unmanaged neonatal pain, such as when a baby is strapped to a board, given a pacifier and then shot up with lidocaine (which burns like a you-know-what) which may or may not provide any sort of pain relief ( dont know because the kid cant tell you) and then has the pain of a fresh post-op site with no pain relief what-so-ever. Oh AND then they get to pee all over this fresh wound, and poop all over it, and have it wiped clean with a wipe that contains witch hazel (sorta like alcohol) AND if some one doesnt put enough vasaline on it, it sticks to the diaper. The best part, when the baby falls asleep during the procedure (because it is one of a babies defense mechanisms when they cant handle the pain) the nurse/doctor goes in to the parents and says "oh, he didnt feel a thing, he slept throiugh it." Thats a killer. Another peice of evidence to support the idea that it IS painful for a baby.... why is it that on the day of the circ, a breastfeeding baby who may previously been feeding well all of the sudden wont wake up for feedings or just doesnt feed well. It is because he is in pain AND just had a stressful painful procedure. Yeah, they dont remember it, but it does have a lasting effect.
My husband it not circd and is very thankful for it. He says the foreskin provides a ton of sensation (like mvd said, it is full of nerve endings....which is another piece of evidence supporting the painfulness of the procedure.) He was taught as a child that he HAD to keep it clean, and he did.
Yeah, its just a lil skin.
Sorry if I sound snippy, this is just a sore subject for me because there are so many misconceptions re: neonatal pain as well as circs. Might want to check out some websites that talk abou the procedure and have forums where guys discuss having/not having their foreskin. There are tons of anti circ websites out there that have great info.

DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN · Jan 8, 2007

Circs are no longer recommended by the AAP because they are unnecessary.

I would agree that circ's are all about cosmetics. The US is the only country in the world that routinely does circ's. None of the men in my family or extended family are circ'd and they're all just fine with it.

Since there has been a lot more research in the recent years on pain and the neonate, they have found that boys who were circ'd cried longer when they got their vaccines throughout childhood Because of the pain perception changes related to the synapse in the brain created. There can also be developmental changes as a result of unmanaged neonatal pain, such as when a baby is strapped to a board, given a pacifier and then shot up with lidocaine (which burns like a you-know-what) which may or may not provide any sort of pain relief ( dont know because the kid cant tell you) and then has the pain of a fresh post-op site with no pain relief what-so-ever.

This thread is regarding circ'ing a 2 year old not a newborn.(that's a whole other set of events and opinions) My son was 3 when he was circ'd for a legitimate physical reason. He was MISERABLE FOR WEEKS but we had no choice. I believe it hurts newborns but IMO I don't buy pain perception changed by the synapse created in the brain because of the circ. Sounds silly to me. IMO.

Batman24 · Jan 8, 2007

I know several children that were circumsized as toddlers. All are just fine with no lingering physical or mental problems. Your son will be just fine as long as you have an excellent doctor.

lovemyjob · Jan 8, 2007

I would agree that circ's are all about cosmetics. The US is the only country in the world that routinely does circ's. None of the men in my family or extended family are circ'd and they're all just fine with it.
This thread is regarding circ'ing a 2 year old not a newborn.(that's a whole other set of events and opinions) My son was 3 when he was circ'd for a legitimate physical reason. He was MISERABLE FOR WEEKS but we had no choice. I believe it hurts newborns but IMO I don't buy pain perception changed by the synapse created in the brain because of the circ. Sounds silly to me. IMO.

I did vear from the OP's question and I apoligize for that. I was more so addressing the post stating that it was just a little skin and how bad could it be. Years ago, they did surgeries on newborns without any analgesic, just a paralytic. I bet pain management seemed silly to them, too.

GardenDove · Jan 8, 2007

I would agree that circ's are all about cosmetics. The US is the only country in the world that routinely does circ's. None of the men in my family or extended family are circ'd and they're all just fine with it.

I don't think that's true. I'm pretty certain that the entire Muslim world is circusized soon after birth, much like Jewish custom.