Of course any procedure can result in infection. However the difference between routine infant circumcision and other surgical procedures is the elective, cosmetic nature of prepucectomy. Furthermore, the difference between routine infant circumcision and other elective, cosmetic procedures is the nature of consent: an adult understands the risks of their voluntary surgery, the infant cannot. Yet, doctors still perform it without medical indication.Five hours later, the parents returned to their family doctor with the infant, who had become “irritable and had blue discolouration” below the belly button. Doctors noticed the discolouration and slight swelling of the penis, but sent the child home.
Fourteen hours after the circumcision, according to Cairns, the child was brought to another hospital where doctors noted he was extremely irritable with marked swelling of the penis and bruising to the scrotum.
The child was then transferred to a paediatric centre, where his bladder was diagnosed, Cairns said, to “seven or eight times its normal size.”
The PlastiBell ring, which is used to hold back the foreskin after circumcision, was removed and drained and the child went into shock. “If the PlastiBell had been taken off five hours after he got there, he would be alive,” said Cairns.
And likely with lasting physiological harm. Take into account that a recent study in the British Journal of Urology shows that circumcised males have less genital sensation than do intact males. This contrasts with previous research, which for the most part was done with adult males who underwent circumcision and were interviewed. In the case of the BJU paper (from the press release):
Adult male volunteers were evaluated with a 19 point Semmes-Weinstein monofilament touch-test to map fine-touch pressure thresholds of the penis. Circumcised and uncircumcised men were compared using mixed models for repeated data, controlling for age, type of underwear worn, time since test ejaculation, ethnicity, country of birth, and level of education.This was a physiological test of sensitivity, which should not be as affected by demand characteristics as a questionnaire. Those who undergo voluntary circumcision have an psychological incentive to report that they have the same amount of feeling. It is much more difficult to fool the test which was used.
If you were to tell a medical ethics board, who are blind to the nature of the procedure, that you wanted to encourage a new surgical intervention on neonates that had questionable benefits, all the risks of other surgical procedures, and likely caused decreased tactile sensitivity, you would be swiftly, and rightfully, shown the exit. Pro-circumcision forces have the burden of proof, and have consistently failed to show a significant benefit of routine infant circumcision. Now why exactly is this procedure still the most common surgical procedure in the United States?
Blogs on this topic:
The Island of Doubt
Gene Expression
Too Many Tribbles
Healthblog CTV
11 comments:
I wouldn't say the pro-circumcision people cannot cite any evidence, especially in light of the recent study regarding HIV infection rates being drastically lower for circumcised males.
"I wouldn't say the pro-circumcision people cannot cite any evidence, especially in light of the recent study regarding HIV infection rates being drastically lower for circumcised males."
I only said that they have failed to show a significant benefit to the procedure of circumcision. Penile cancer and urinary tract infection do seem to be lower in circumcised males. But the incidence is so low to begin with performing mass cicumcision for these reasons is not effective.
As for my thoughts on the African HIV/circumcision studies you can read about them below.
http://tantalusprime.blogspot.com/2007/05/out-of-africa.html
http://tantalusprime.blogspot.com/2007/05/misinformation-handed-out-in-sex-ed.html
All sorts of different medical claims have been made about the benefits of circumcision. With the exception of the latest, they've all been shown to be untrue - the reduction of masturbation, the reduction of penile cancer, urinary tract infections, premature ejaculation, and so on.
In quite a few cases, there was enough evidence to conclude that the claims were bogus even while they were being made, and the research that supposedly supported them usually had glaring and damning flaws.
Given the long history of improper justification for this procedure, looking at the latest claims with anything but the most skeptical analysis is foolishness.
From what you read in the mainstream press, you would think that male circumcision is the same all over the world, but it isn't. Did any of these studies on transmission of HIV control for degree of circumcision (and prevailing practice and differences in behaviour during sexual encounters depending on local culture)?
There is more than one way to skin a cock. Sometime they cut the frenulum off, sometimes they cut around it. The prepucial frenular delta nerve, aka the masculine “Gee Stirng” and the feminine “G Spot”, trigger sexual arousal and erections when stroked or pulled. Causing sexual dysfunction by severing these nerves is an ancient form of eugenics on infants. Sure this will decrease the HIV rates but people won’t do it if they know what’s going on so they have to twist data around to convince people that the prepuce is the cause of HIV.
HIV enters our blood through micro rips in the male and female prepuce from rough (dry) sex, and anal tissue, too.
The largest organ, our epidurmis has natural anti viral defence Langerhans’ cell that produce langerin proteins that kill HIV and other viruses as they enter. These cells are all over our skin and consentrated in the male and female prepuce.
Schizophrenia is a neuro-chemical brain malfunction mostly associated with sexual TRAUMA before the brain developes language skills. Circumcision induced schizophrenia is often delussional and paranoidal, and sometimes coupled with audio and visual hallucinations due from milk allergies cause from a disruption in first mothers milk nursing caused from trauma. I had to look into this because my dad and two of my brothers, and two of my mother’s sisters sons have developed schizo-dissorders. Two of my other brothers committed suicide from sexual dysfunctions in their twenties.
"Schizophrenia is a neuro-chemical brain malfunction mostly associated with sexual TRAUMA before the brain developes language skills. Circumcision induced schizophrenia is often delussional and paranoidal, and sometimes coupled with audio and visual hallucinations due from milk allergies cause from a disruption in first mothers milk nursing caused from trauma."
Um, fredr, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask for some citations for these facts.
tanalus prime says
Um, fredr, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask for some citations for these facts.
I know that these are just words from degreed reserchers...
http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/goldman1/
http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/health/effects/autism.html
http://www.solbaram.org/articles/humind.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/05/AR2007030500357.html
http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/health/effects/autism.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/05/AR2007030500357.html
Hope it comes through this time.
I read an article on autopsies on shcizophrenic brain tissue that showed a consentration of milk solids lodged in the vissual and audio parts of the brain. They didn't link it with another study that shows a certain amount of infants that were deprived of first mothers milk which is consentrated with essentual enzimes and proteins used to digest milk solids. You do the math.
Circumcision actually increases the chance of infection because of the risk of the surgery itself.
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