Health Benefits of Male Circumcision

Male circumcision is the removal of some or the entire foreskin or prepuce from the penis. Male circumcision is widely practice among Muslims world-wide. It is also a religious injunction ( a positive commandment) in Judaism. However, this practice is wide spread among Christians and Muslims in some part of Africa especially Nigeria, possibly due to cultural reasons. For the Muslims it stated in the Hadiths. Among the Christians it is only customary among the Coptic, Ethiopian, and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, and also some other African churches while the Roman Catholic Church is neutral on it. 

 The first recorded case of male circumcision was among the Egyptians 3000B.C, evidence from the mummies showed all the male mummies are circumcised. It was also practiced among the Babylonians, Colchians and the Moabites. Among this ancient tribes it may be have practice with ritualistic purpose, however the practice attain a religious status with the Jews who see it as a necessary religious practice. The advent of rapid scientific advance may be the first time hygienic reason was ascribe to the practice.

Male circumcision is a popular culture in many societies and the first documented evidence can be dated to as far as the ancient Egypt. Certain society practices it as a ritualistic requirement for a boy to be initiated into manhood like the one describe in Carama Laye‘s book- African Child. This is particularly done on young adolescents. However among the Muslims and many Nigerian tribes it done in childhood, around the first week among the Yorubas while the Kanuri does it in children as old as 6 years. Infant circumcision is also popular USA and English speaking part of Canada. Why it is popular USA may not be unconnected with the fact foreskin is perceive to be dirty and it removal as a means of preventing masturbation. 

Some US physicians even strongly advocated for it in early 1900. According to National Hospital Discharge Survey data from the National Center for Health Statistics in US was about 60% infant circumcision rate.

It is a global practice with a world-wide rate of about 30%. In many Western African countries is a common practice i.e. universal, not doing it is rare, so also in Middle East and North Africa. The rate of male circumcision in USA is about 85% among males.

   Male circumcision has hygienic benefit in fact that that is a major reason it is a practice in some Western countries. The skin of the glans penis (the free end of the penis) secrete a material called smegma, this substance encourage the growth of bacterial and infection if allow to accumulate. To avoid such the uncircumcised would need to wash the foreskin and glans penis regularly, it mean retracting the foreskin to wash the skin underneath. This retraction can be difficult and painful to do a time.

Recent evidence have emerge that the practice has been associated with a lower risk for HIV male-to-female transmission compared to when the individual is not circumcised. However this does not suggest that the prevention strategy like abstinence, consistent and correct condom usage etc. should be discarded or unnecessary. Nigerians circumsize but their is still HIV infection around.

In addition it help to reduce the cost of having to treat medical conditions like phimiosis, balanoposthitis, balanitis  and paraphimosis. These condition are common among the circumscribed.There are also increase risk of sexually transmitted genital ulcer disease and chlamydia, infant urinary tract infections, penile cancer, and cervical cancer in female partners of uncircumcised men. It also reduces the risk of penile cancer. It has been described as a surgical vaccine by some scholar because of the role it plays in penile cancer prevention.

Male circumcision is even beneficial to the female sexual partner of the circumcised. Those women tend to have substantial protection from genital herpes, cervical cancer, bacterial vaginosis, possibly Chlamydia (that can cause Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy), and other infections.

It is not that male circumcision does not have adverse effects however minimal it needs to be mentioned. The benefit to risk is like 100 to 1. The risks, benefits to sexual partner of the circumcised, commonly asked questions and best timing for male circumcision would be discussed in subsequent update. There would also some information of the argument of the emerging groups against male circumcision.

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