Caring for the Intact Penis
Decided to go au naturale, have we?
Yesterday, I posted arguments against circumcision. If you checked out that blog, you know that this is a very, er, sensitive topic.
But you’re a natural parent. You’ve done your research. And you figure, “What the hey! It’s not my body. Would I want someone to make this lifetime choice for me?”
Next step: How to Care For an Intact Penis
Pencils sharpened? Here goes:
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Bathe. Your. Son.
Got it? I’ll repeat it: Have him wash with soap and water.
As he gets older, you can discuss with his pediatrician whether is foreskin has retracted enough. But remember, there is a wide range for when normal retraction should occur.
My older son’s pediatrician suggested I pull back the foreskin starting when my son was 2. Little L did not like me to do it, and I tried to reason with him. Then I decided that I wanted my son to have autonomy over his body and know that how it should be touched was his choice. I stopped doing it and will no longer discuss foreskins with that doctor. (Just a note: that ped is wonderful in every other way, which is why my boys continue to see him.)
Or, as I read at an “Intactivist” site:
The pediatrician of a friend of mine told her the only thing she needs to take care of her son’s foreskin is a ruler … to smack anyone’s hand who tries to touch it!
At 3 ½, my intact boy can aim at the bushes with the best of ‘em, thank you very much!
Now, as the wonderful Dr. Greene (of “Raising Baby Green“) says,
- Only the outside of the foreskin needs to be cleaned during the first year.
- Wash with soap and water like you would the rest of the diaper area.
- If urine can flow freely, the hole in the foreskin is big enough.
- Do not try to forcibly retract the foreskin or to clean under an adherent foreskin with swabs, antiseptics, or even water.
- Over time, the foreskin naturally retracts because of erections or handling. Both are completely normal for boys.
The summary? Wash his penis area like you would his rump. Teach your son to bathe. And don’t stress it! This is the way his body was meant to be!
Image: nathalielaure at Flickr under a Creative Commons License.
Brettney Said:
Why hope, you just stop mutilating them and you don’t have to hope.
Brettney Said:
That doesn’t say the nerves aren’t there; it only says that the insulating material hasn’t formed around the pathways which seams to increase the propagation delay for impulses. It doesn’t demonstrate that they feel pain more or less acutely. And they aren’t suggesting that the nerve pathways aren’t already formed. They’ve suspended investigations on the pain response of neonatal circumcision without anesthetic because of the obvious distress it causes. Not that it matters since whether or not its painful or distressing is quite besides the point, just because something is painless doesn’t make it ethical.
Brettney Said:
That is really the only study. And I think it’s clear that those researchers were looking for the opposite result. They were desperately trying to show that female circumcision increases HIV prevalence. To their disappointment, they failed.
There will be no follow ups because we’ve rightfully declared female circumcision to be a human rights violation, which is where we should be with male circumcision but because of ‘political correctness’ which seems to trump rational thinking, we’re not there, yet. There is biases in research, you’re right about that but perhaps not in the way you think. When researchers look into female circumcision they’re always going in with the preconceived notion that it’s harmful, with MC they ignore the harms and keep digging for incremental, often trivial benefits. Again the study I provided you shocked those who wrote it, and the went to great lengths to try and dismiss it. Actually, it makes biological sense why female circumcision would decrease HIV prevalence in the same way as male circumcision, less tissue (surface area) available to infect would probably decrease the chance of infection. But alas, our biases will prevent us from investigating it.
As far as HIV prevalence viz-a-viz female circumcision in Africa, it must also be pointed out that the US, with the highest rate (by far) of male circumcision amongst industrialized countries has the highest prevalence (by far) of HIV. It is quite clear that circumcision has heretofore not been useful to us here in the US.
Brettney Said:
That’s cold comfort to the boy or man who has to live with that result. I am courious how many botches are acceptable for a non-therapeutic medical procedure? How many deaths are acceptable for a non-therapeutic medical procedure?
All conditions circumcision is purported to prevent are not only rare but can be treated non-invasively. Your example, Phimosis, can be treated either with gentle stretching, or you can be prescribed steroid creams as a second option. Something like betamethasone 0.05% cream for 4 to 6 weeks has been demonstrated to be very effective working for most people who need it. Or if for some reason neither of these work, as a final option, one could opt for a Preputioplasty; the least invasive surgical option. Preputioplasty requires the surgeon to make one or more short longitudinal incisions to relieve the stenosis which would then be sutured transversely (There is even a sutureless option now). Preputioplasty is nearly always the most appropriate surgical option except in some very specific circumstances, such as a non-retractable foreskin which is complicated by significant scarring or tearing. Considering how uncommon these problems are getting to a circumcision because of them is especially rare.
I am aware of the increasing rates of sections. But at least in that case the person being operated on has provided consent. That makes it quite a different situation.
Brettney Said:
What does that have to do with anything? Are you saying because of the countries economic and political status that is why female circumcision persists? If that’s the case let’s take a look at the countries where MC is prevalent (we sure keep good company don’t we:
Albania, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Iran, Pakistan, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Israel, Tajikistan, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Cortie D’ivoire, Togo, Nigeria, Mali, Niger, Algeria, Turkey, Tunisia, Libya, Chad, Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia.
Of course most of them do it just to please the sky fairy.
Brettney Said:
I am not sure what this is about that press release made in DC, two of the contact numbers are DC area codes the third is Maryland. If you want to corroborate veracity of the press release, there is contact information on the bottom of the page.
Brettney Said:
This is the problem, when people think about female circumcision they alway think of the worst situation. Rusty razor, mud hut, ect. And they lump all the procedures in together. The bottom line is that here in the US baby girls are protected no matter how severe or benign the ‘circumcision’ would be, no matter the culture, no matter the religion, no matter who does it or at what age. Boys deserve the same respect and protection for their bodies that girls are given.
[...] I want him to look like me. He’ll be a freak in the locker room. You have to. Boys who aren’t circumcised are dirty. [...]
Heather Dunham wrote: ““Avoid most soaps or cleansing agents because they can irritate the penis; water is usually sufficient for cleansing.”
Just as you wouldn’t use soap for cleaning inside a girl’s labia or vulva. Even using soap externally is an irritant ‘down there’ for lots of women.”
There is a reason for this. All of the inner surfaces of the penis (within the foreskin) and within the labia are mucosal skin. Some read this and think “mucous” but these skin surfaces do not produce mucous. It simply means that this skin type is designed to function in a wet environment. Other areas on the body where mucosal skin is present is in the anal cleft, inside the mouth and lips and the inner eyelids. The inner eyelids are most sensitive to soaps but all those areas are sensitive to soaps to some degree.
Women can relate to leaving soap in their vaginal cleft as it will produce a burning sensation with time. Soap within the prepuce will also have this effect and if there long enough will burn the inner surface of the foreskin and the surface of the glans. Not only will this be painful for the child but these burned surfaces will be more susceptible to infections.
Frank