For many years the foreskin has become a highly debated part of the male anatomy with some swearing by circumcision especially for religious reasons and others declaring it as an unnecessary health risk.
You would be surprised to learn that America is at the forefront when it comes to circumcision for non-religious purposes.
However this could change as scientists have been discovering that keeping your manhood fully clothed might not be as risky as we previously thought.
According to the Mayo Clinic Proceedings report, published in 2014, stated that “circumcision in America is on the decline. Researchers found that instances of circumcision decreased from 83 percent of men in the 1960s to 77 percent of men in 2010.”
Below are bit-size facts from sexual pleasure to penile cancer that could explain why this trend could be fading into oblivion, soon.
In The Beginning it is not retractable when a baby boy is born, the foreskin is almost joined to the glands of the penis, meaning that it cannot retract. However it does not mean that parents should have the baby circumcised as according to Psychology Today “it’s not unheard of for this to happen after the age of 18, or even as young as 3”.
So if it did not occur during your pubescent years, do not fret.
Sometimes It Will Not Retract At all as ‘the foreskin never separates from the glans of the penis, making it difficult to retract the skin without pain’, this condition is called Phimosis. This could occur when tearing or forced retraction during your childhood years, leads to scarring or an infection.
It is treatable with a special ointment called ‘topical corticosteroid’ or uncapping your crusader.
It Is A Potential Cancer Risk although it could be minor, researchers has found that adult circumcision does not decrease the risk of penile cancer but in some cases, increases the risk.
On the other end of the spectrum some believe that not being circumcised could increase your risk of developing ‘smegma’ , a combination of sebum and skin cells used to lubricate men’s foreskin and glans.’
Do not stress as doctors say that developing the risk of penile cancer whether you are circumcised or not is very low? Dr. Brian Morris, a researcher at the University of Sydney says that “the current likelihood of developing penile cancer is one in 1,000 for uncircumcised men and one in 50,000 for circumcised men.”
Larger Risk of HIV which researchers suggest is debatable as there might have been evidence stating that men who were circumcised harboured fewer bacteria than before especially in African countries; they deemed it just as effective at preventing HIV as a vaccine; which was published in a 2014 mBio journal.
However, some are a bit unsure about this conclusion, according to the Psychology Today journal; the research that was done on African men had many gaps, as the study was concluded before all the findings had been collected.
Some researchers saying that it creates a “belief that circumcision prevents HIV encourages many circumcised men in African countries to forgo wearing condoms.”
If you forget everything else you just read, just remember to always wear a condom regardless of your crusaders capped or uncapped status.
Sorry Circumcised Men but uncircumcised men experience a ‘lil more sexual pleasure and it could be true as a 2013, Belgian study conducted a study involving uncircumcised and circumcised men and observed their sensitivity in their nether regions; as well as the intensity of their orgasm.
Need proof? ‘’Out of the 1,369 men interviewed over the age of 18, 310 were circumcised, while 1,059 were not. They were asked, on a scale of 0 to 5, just how sensitive their penis was during sex. It turns out that the uncut men were most likely to report higher levels of sensitivity.”
With uncircumcised men reporting an average sensitivity of 3.72, while their circumcised counterparts reported an average of 3. 31.
Dr Piete Hoebeke of the Ghent University Hospital emphasized that it might not be a very big difference in sensitivity but it’s a significant one; with uncircumcised men reporting more intense orgasms as well.
No It Is Not Cleaner which is something that most people have always thought about circumcision and regarded men who are uncircumcised as unhygienic. Men and women build up smegma but you usually get rid of this unpleasant by-product by bathing regularly.
“Uncircumcised men most certainly do too as long as they regularly clean themselves. This is usually done by retracting the foreskin and simply cleansing the area with water (using soap may cause irritation).”
That is it for the foreskin debate, however if you are circumcised or uncircumcised it’s down to you or your parents preference or religious reasons. Whichever reason, we would like to hear about it.
Sources: Medical Daily, mBio, Psychology Today
Alice Paulse
