This weeks hot topic – Circumcision.
The ooh yes vs the hell no’s, whatever side you are on here is the argument to back you up.
Please consider your data sources, some are more valid than others. In addition the numbers provides are for the general population.
Note: Different ethnic groups have different genetic dispositions towards various diseases, this may affect the your decision on whether to undergo the procedure or not.
Common reasons for and against are
ooh yes
- Religious reasons
- Medical reasons – Other
- Medical reasons – Cancer
- Caused by HPV virus, Phimosis, Smegma, HIV/AIDS, Psoriasis treatment
- Men circumcised in childhood/adolescence are at substantially reduced risk of invasive penile cancer *1
- Uncircumcised risk 0.81/100k USA
0.1/100k Israel
1/493 UK men*3 - Circumcised risk – 1/50,000 to 1/12,000,000*2
- uncircumcised men had a 22-fold higher risk*2
- HIV prevention
Hell no
- Complication during surgery
- 11.5% of circumcisions has complications *5
1.6% requiring additional surgery - Total Adverse events 0.5% *6.
- 11.5% of circumcisions has complications *5
- Rights of the child
Counter Arguments
ooh yes
- Religious reasons
- None
- Medical reasons – Other
- Wait and see, if necessary perform the procedure
- Medical reasons – Cancer
- Can be prevented by better personal hygiene
- Get HPV vaccine*4
- Use condoms
- HIV prevention
- Use a condom
- A large Canadian study shows no significant difference advantage to being circumcised *9 – Use a condom
Hell no
- Complication during surgery
- Risk increases the older the subject is *6
- Most complications are minor and irrelevant, e.g. bleeding
- Studies are too small to provide a clear picture
- Rights of the child
- Parents make decisions for the child
Conclusion
The studies (OS-2) show that there is a wide range of complications many of which can be attributed to the practitioner performing the procedure.
Risks increase when the procedure is performed by non medical or “traditional” practitioners. *7
It appears being circumcised reduces the risk of getting cancer, which is rare at 1/100k men diagnosed every year. *8
The largest medical reason appears to be due to the prevalence of phimosis, which corrects itself in 99% of males by age 16, usually resolved around age 5-7, 1% of 7th grade boys have this issue.
The two opposing parties ooh yes v hell no seem to be at loggerheads over two points.
- The benefits of disease risk reduction v the value of the part that is removed (prepuce) and potential complications
- Parent rights v the rights of the child
Point 1 seems to be evenly balanced, circumcising the child to prevent risk of disease by taking a risk something may go wrong. In both instances the risks are pretty low. The greatest benefit is avoiding complications of phimosis, which most boys outgrow.
Point 2 is more complicated, a moral dilemma. At what point does the child get the right to determine their future and parental responsibility ceases. This is something every parent needs to consider for themselves.
Fun Facts & points to ponder
- Circumcisions have been performed for at least 5,000 years, it is well documented that Egyptians were performing them way back when. There may be some rock art depicting the practice going back 30,000 years. I asked my grandad about it, he said no comment. I suspect they used a blunt object in the day and no one wants to confess to the outcomes.
- Evolution gave us the foreskin for a reason, probably to protect the little fella. So was this an evolutionary wrong turn or are we messing with the grand design?
- If you are relying on circumcision to protect you from a STD, you are an idiot. Wear a condom.
Quoted Sources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3139859/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5673812/
- https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/penile-cancer#heading-Three
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/penile-cancer-and-circumcision#prevention
- https://spuonline.org/abstracts/2018/P21.cgi
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24820907/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323681278000077
- https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/penile-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
- https://www.auajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1097/JU.0000000000002234
Other sources
| URL | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| OS-1 | https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/penile-cancer/risks-causes | |
| OS-2 | https://www.bibliomed.org/mnsfulltext/51/51-1547424788.pdf?1701097466 | Contains many study results |
I ask that you review the HIV reduction claims. They’re based on relative numbers to make it appear higher and people in those studies were provided clinical support, including condoms. There are larger population studies that show no effect based on circumcision status. https://www.auajournals.org/doi/10.1097/JU.0000000000002234
Another consideration for the HIV argument is the Peltzman Effect, though that would generally be immeasurable.
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