By Marisa Loranger, News Editor.
Circumcision has been a widely debated topic in recent years. In America, circumcision has become more of an aesthetic choice, as opposed to a health concern.
Circumcision is the process of removing extra foreskin from the penis. The first written account of the practice appears in 2400 B.C. when Egyptians used flint knives to remove the foreskin on young men, according to Stephanie Pappas of the Discovery Network. It symbolized leaving boyhood and entering adulthood.
Circumcisions happen in three different methods, the Mogen Clamp, the Plastibell and the Gomco Clamp, according to the US National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health. The Mogen Clamp uses a clamp on the foreskin which stops blood flow, once the blood flow stops, a scalpel is used to cut off the foreskin. The Plastibell is a plastic device held under the foreskin. A string is tied around the foreskin to cut off circulation until the foreskin falls off. The Gomco Clamp is inserted between the head of the penis and the foreskin. This cuts off circulation, the blood around the clamp starts to clot and a scalpel is used to cut off the foreskin, but this will also leave a scar on the top of the shaft.
“Circumcisions are usually done in the first 10 days of birth. They are a quick procedure, and are done in approximately 15 minutes. Children usually heal within 10 days,” explains Nicole Boelter, an ER registered nurse at Covenant and nursing graduate student from Delta.
Circumcision first became popular in religions such as Jewish, Muslim and African tribal communities. Since then, Western culture started to adopt the practice, according to the US National Library of Medicine. In the 1800s, doctors thought that circumcision could cure fevers, paralysis and brass poisoning.
As people started giving birth in hospitals, circumcisions started to rise, according to Pappas. Only wealthy women were able afford hospital births. Circumcision became a status symbol, so only the wealthy had circumcised children. As hospitals became the most popular place to give birth, circumcisions started to rise.
The foreskin is the female equivalent of the clitoral hood. There are 20,000 nerve endings just in the foreskin, according to the National Institute of Health. The foreskin makes sex more pleasurable and the glands produce lubricants that help during sex. Only 2 percent of circumcisions have complications that include bleeding, infections, psychological and sexual problems.
Circumcision seems to be on the decline in the U.S., according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, with just 56 percent of men undergoing the procedure. In countries like Sweden, only 2 percent of children are circumcised, according to the Swedish Medical Center. Sweden has made cosmetic surgeries illegal until someone is old enough to consent, and they consider the practice to be genital mutilation. If there are medical issues, doctors try steroid creams, stretching methods and less invasive surgeries before circumcision is an option.
According to Boelter, there are both positives and negatives that come with being circumcised.
Pros of circumcision:
- Easier to clean
- Decreased risk of urinary tract infection
- Decreased risk of std (including HIV, genital herpes, human papillomavirus and syphilis.)
- Prevention of penile problems
Cons of circumcision:
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Foreskin cut too long/short
- Foreskin fails to heal properly
- Remaining foreskin may re-attach to end of penis
- Loss of nerve endings which creates less pleasurable sex.
- Infants glans aren’t protected from feces and ammonia in diapers.
- No protection from friction and chafing