CDC rec to counsel all males about benefits of circumcision

Libby1987 · Dec 4, 2014

I don't mean to be flip, and like I posted earlier I regret my one son being circumcised, but of all of our social health and well being issues, that males may potentially not be enjoying sex to the fullest doesn't even make the top 100. A lack of horniness and sexual function doesn't seem to be plaguing our young male population. Down the road there are sexual dysfunction issues but to the best of my knowledge those aren't related to sensation.

I think it's non sensical and I'm not horrified by foreskin (I think it's ridiculous that anyone is) but in the US circumcision is not an oppression issue. There are large cultural and religious groups that don't circumsize and they aren't suffering shaming except from our most ridiculous and immature.

There are other groups who do suffer socially in this country that should be fully addressed and resolved. Bullying in school. Hate crimes by racists and homophobes. Lives destroyed by circumcision on principle? Not so common.

I would support ending the social practice, but my reasons differ from some stated here and I think any movement towards change needs to start with reconditioning our society that foreskin is not gross, while not promoting that a circumcised member is gross either. More of a "Grow the hell up everyone!" campaign. I bet everyone here has friends and family that find foreskin disgusting, start there.

ComeTogether, LPN · Dec 4, 2014

I would be curious to talk to men who had it done later in life to find out what the differences are in sensation. I know the glans is much more sensitive, and seems to make sex more enjoyable since it's covered when it isn't erect.

allnurses Guide · Dec 4, 2014

And those are cosmetic surgeries done on fully consenting ADULT women.
The fact that a person who medically needs a procedure wishes he could have had it done in a way he wouldn't remember has absolutely no bearing on whether healthy, functional tissue should be removed from a newborn who cannot consent. I wonder, too, how many "medically necessary" circumcisions in this country are caused by improper intact care causing adhesions.

That is incorrect. The top reason I have done anesthesia for labiaplaties was for the excessive tissue from the labias getting in the way during urination. It can be a cosmetic surgery too, but that isn't the only reason.

Male circumcision has medical benefits, and some of those benefits are only realized when done as infant (penile cancer).

macawake, MSN · Dec 4, 2014

Females labia do not normally cause problems, but we frequently do labiaplasties in U.S., so it even your nut and bolt comparison isn't really accurate.

Those are done by consenting adult women here too. Some do them because the size of the labia make them "chafe" or cause discomfort in other ways and some because they don't think that theirs looks like the ones they see in Media movies. Either way, they're adults.

All the adult men and male teens that end up having to have circumcision after infancy that I have taken care of have all stated to me that wish they would had it done as an infant.

Since your anecdotal data and my anecdotal data tell a different story, I again have to wonder about cultural reasons.

Have the men who wished they had it done in infancy been needled by other boys and men for being different? I assume showers after sports or in the miltary are communal? How does it feel to be the "odd duck" with intact foreskin? I'd guess that peer pressure and culture plays a big role here.

allnurses Guide · Dec 4, 2014

People that keep stating male circumcision is only a cosmetic procedure is a lie. You can state that you don't think it is right or that is mainly done for cosmetic reasons, but stating that is only a cosmetic procedure is lie to support an opinion.

Red Kryptonite · Dec 4, 2014

I think we can all agree that the American Cancer Society knows what they're talking about, and they have no high opinion of RIC as a preventative for penile cancer, stating that it would take over 900 circumcisions to prevent one case. Hygiene and avoiding HPV infection are much more important. http://m.cancer.org/cancer/penilecancer/detailedguide/penile-cancer-prevention

As to bullying, first circumcision rates are falling, so this is less of an issue. In my state, the newborn circumcision rate is under 20%. Second, do we really want to advocate surgical removal of body parts to cater to the preferences of troglodytes who would tease someone about that? I told my boys that if they ever had a problem in the locker room to just loudly shout, "Hey, FIRST NAME, why are you checking out my d***?!" I'm pretty sure that would shut it down. My younger son did get a comment in the bathroom once. He said something like, well I'm sorry your parents had yours cut off. Our kids aren't quite the delicate flowers some make them out to be, and education goes a long way.

Red Kryptonite · Dec 4, 2014

People that keep stating male circumcision is only a cosmetic procedure is a lie. You can state that you don't think it is right or that is mainly done for cosmetic reasons, but stating that is only a cosmetic procedure is lie to support an opinion.

Any benefits can be had in less invasive and more ethical ways.

Red Kryptonite · Dec 4, 2014

Here is a link, as promised, to the research project about neonatal deaths from circumcision complications. You can download the pdf if interested. This project found numbers equal to SIDS deaths in the neonatal period.

PS I don't claim it's infallible or anything, but it's out there and it's a question that needs to be discussed.

http://www.mensstudies.com/content/b64n267w47m333x0/?p=2c9d4aa1991c4ec998fd72062c299184&pi=5

And then there are the non-fatal complications. Are these risks worth what you think you might be preventing? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3253617/

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Dec 4, 2014

Guess I'll add my own thoughts:

Saying circumcision is disruptive to breastfeeding is as valid as saying sunlight is disruptive to breastfeeding. Meaning that anytime anything ever 'disrupts' breastfeeding, it is a source of blame, rather than finding out the REAL source of breastfeeding trouble. This is based on my MANY years as a LLL Leader, having helped many hundreds of women get past breastfeeding issues that were NOT 'breastfeeding issues' at all but 'issues that were blamed as the cause problems with breastfeeding'. So that argument should be considered just as valid as saying small breasts are disruptive to breastfeeding....in other words, not. Also worth mentioning that it's pretty common to see a nursing mother comfort her newborn after circumcision BY breastfeeding....(with it frequently being the MOTHER who needed the comforting when she heard her baby cry!)......and with vigor

For those who say it carries a "high risk of infection", please show me the studies in the US that indicate newborns who are circumcised routinely suffer infections because of such circumcisions. They must be dropping like flies, considering the risk.....?

For those who say it's only cosmetic, I would point to religious practices for whom it is NOT cosmetic, and those who are adhering to this practice don't find their baby boys dropping from infection or blood loss, either.

And finally, having had the misfortune of witnessing two horrible infections requiring hospitalization in two young men who were NOT circumcised, I was only too glad to know that my own sons wouldn't suffer in such a way.

Clearly those who are anti-circumcision will not agree to the validity of the arguments in the opposite camp, and vice versa. Not going to change anyone's minds either way. But since there seemed to be so much said here about circumcision horrors, it's worth putting out there that it does go both ways.

allnurses Guide · Dec 4, 2014

Then why aren't HPV, HIV, penile cancer, and STIs eradicated, if all it takes is education and hygiene. Circumcision obviously has medical indications or the CDC and WHO wouldn't consider recommending it.

We are supposed to be health care professionals. That should mean that we critically evaluate the research and put aside our personal biases when determining best EBP. Denying that male circumcision can be medically helpful in the prevention of disease is a biased opinion at best. Waiting until a male becomes 18 to legally consent to a circumcision denies that male some of those preventive benefits early on. Most teenagers have had sexual intercourse prior to 18, and circumcision is one of many proven ways to reduce certain STIs.

Someone can sit in their Ivory Tower and state well if they would just do X,Y & Z then there wouldn't be a problem. That is all well and good in a perfect society, but people often take risks and that risk taking behavior won't ever be completely mitigated through any amount of education.

canigraduate · Dec 4, 2014

I find it crazy that most of this "debate" (as defined as beating each other over the head over and over) is by women. I won't make any genitalia based decisions for men. They better return the favor.

I find Red Kryptonite's reasons for not wanting to circumcise interesting, but not compelling. I believe that trying to engender a dramatic reaction by comparing circumcision to rape is not only turning off the people who may have sympathized, but causing quite a few others to feel contempt.

The studies I've reviewed do not weigh down either side of the scale, in favor or against, for me.

However, I don't think there is an uncircumcised male in my family. It is the accepted practice for those in the religion I was raised. And if you try to tell them not to do it, be prepared for a Biblical debate. If you try to insist, they will simply find someone else who will. As another poster said, I would prefer those precious little boys to have it done in a sterile environment, not somewhere unmonitored out in the world.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Dec 4, 2014

I find it crazy that most of this "debate" (as defined as beating each other over the head over and over) is by women. I won't make any genitalia based decisions for men. They better return the favor.

While I agree that each gender can and should decide what to do with his or her own Personal Bits, as a mother, I inherited the responsibility to make just such a decision (albeit jointly, with my husband) for TWO little 'men'