It may be a kind of taboo among men and also women, but it is a medical practice that has been going on for millions of years.
If we look back, historians and doctors have verified that circumcision it began to be practiced 15,000 years ago as a way to castrate enemies captured in a lighter way and without cutting off their entire penis. Later, entire cultures began to make use of this practice for hygienic reasons. Some even have it out of habit, like the Jews.
According to UNAIDS – an organization that works to eradicate the epidemic -, “the Semitic peoples, including the Egyptians and those who professed the Jewish faith, already practiced circumcision, whose first representations, found in an Egyptian temple, date from the year 2300 before Christ”.
In addition, in the 19th century, there were advances in surgical procedure and, with the increased mobility of people during the 20th century, the intervention made its way for health and social reasons in cultures that previously did not practice it.
But what is circumcision? What benefits does it bring? Is there a risk after the intervention?
Circumcision is a surgical intervention in which the portion of the foreskin of the penis that covers the glans penis is cut away to leave it permanently exposed. According to some data from associations such as UNAIDS, “close to 30% of men worldwide, representing a total of approximately 670 million, are circumcised.”
Contrary to what is thought, more than half of them are of the Islamic religion, while only 1% are Jews and up to 13% are Americans who do not profess either of these two religions. And, in the United States, the practice of this intervention has become common in 90% of births.
According to American medical experts and organizations such as the WHO (World Health Organization), performing circumcision brings some benefits. One of the most recent studies on the subject, prepared by the Provincial Center of Medical Sciences of Santiago de Cuba, justifies male circumcision as a method for the decreased risk of human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV) up to 60% and other infections of sexual transmission, especially in African countries where this problem is more complex.
Beyond the health reasons, the most important, according to a study published in the Journal of Urology, is the practice of circumcision does not produce less sensitivity in the penis -something that worries many of the adult men who think about having the intervention-, in fact, quite the opposite. According to these experts, the removal of the foreskin makes sexual intercourse more pleasurable as it increases sensitivity.
Prevention and duration
The prevention of other STDs is another advantage of removing the foreskin. And it is that, the tissue that covers the penis is more sensitive to contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Contracting the human papillomavirus -of which men are carriers- or genital herpes decreases by having the penis circumcised. Although in all cases it is necessary to use contraceptive methods.
In the case of not having a circumcised penis, strong movements during intercourse can be fatal causing what is known as a penile fracture, so in this case being circumcised is a plus.
Furthermore, studies confirm that increases the duration of intercourse and it slows down ejaculations in men who have been circumcised.
In Spain, this practice is generally carried out for medical reasons. and when it is totally necessary, such as in the case of phimosis. Babies are born with the skin of the penis narrower and it is during growth that it molds to the body. If by the arrival of adolescence this has not happened, that is when it is decided to intervene.