How is it done? Within a couple days of birth, a newborn is given sugar water to suck on and remain distracted. Then a small needle is used to inject numbing medicine at the base of the penis to make the entire penis numb. This works very well if done correctly. A special tool is then used to protect the penis and cut off the excess skin. The entire procedure takes 10 to 20 minutes to complete.
Anti-circumcision groups have said that this practice is inhumane and painful to a newborn. In reality, how much more painful is this compared to blood draws and vaccines? The most painful part is the injection for numbing, but this is again no different than shots and needles used to draw blood. The other question was, is it effective in preventing infections?
Today the CDC released guidelines that show circumcision can:
- Cut a man's risk of getting HIV from an infected female by 50 to 60 percent
- Reduce the risk of herpes and HPV by 30 percent or more
- Lower the odds of urinary tract infections in infancy and penile cancer in adulthood
These are pretty significant points that the CDC is making. However, opposition groups will surely make a lot of noise to refute this. Personally, I have seen many patients that wish they were circumcised. Some patients get fungal infections frequently due to moisture, some with those infections mentioned by the CDC. In the end, every parent has a choice to make and nobody can fault them for their decision in either direction. With these new facts, it will also be interesting to see if insurance companies will have to cover the procedure as a standard of care. If this happens, expect more individuals to make the choice to circumcise.
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