The Truth About Circumcision
By Katherine Mae M. Lopez
CIRCUMCISION is regarded as “rite of passage” to being a man. A study published in 2005 in the American Journal of Epidemiology says that the prevalence rate of circumcision in the Philippines is 92.5 percent. On the other hand, the prevalence rate in Spain is only 1.8 percent, 6.9 percent in Columbia, 7.4 percent in Brazil and 13.3 percent in Thailand.
Before Jesus Christ was born, circumcision was practiced by Hebrews as their way of establishing their covenant with God. A verse in the book of Genesis 17:11 says, “And ye shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of a covenant between Me and you.” Circumcision, therefore, was practiced for religious purposes.
But what really is circumcision?
“The penis, at birth, is covered by a skin called a foreskin,” says Dr. Dante P. Dator, chairman of the Department of Urology at the National Kidney Institute in Quezon City. “It is a procedure wherein the foreskin is slit to expose the glands to facilitate its cleaning.”
Dator explains that the foreskin accumulates dirt and shed skin.
“While most males in the world are uncircumcised, there have been reports saying that circumcised males have lower risk of contracting HIV, penile cancer and infections,” he says, adding that the HIV virus penetrates the inner skin of the foreskin because it has bigger pores.
Complications may arise if circumcision is not done properly, says Dator. These complications include incomplete circumcision wherein you have to do the circumcision again, and there is over circumcision which distorts the cosmetic appearance of the penis.
Dator adds that the patient may also suffer from pain, bleeding and infection which can cause inflammation, or the so called “nangangamatis.”
In taking care of the circumcised penis, Dator recommends the use of antibiotic for dressing the circumcised area. Three days after the circumcision, Dator says the boy may already be given a bath, with the circumcised area being washed with regular water and soap. “It’s no longer as tedious as before,” he says.
Realizing the potential health benefits of circumcision, Dator says he’s beginning to be inclined to doing it to a patient.
“It’s a different situation in other countries. People from other cultures may be hard to convince, he says.
