[ ARC forum 2 ]
Written by RJK at 14 Apr 2001 19:47:51: Re: Foreskin problem in child
As an answer to: Re: Foreskin problem in child written by Bill at 14 Apr 2001 04:55:28:
Bill, your point is well taken: you don't have to be circumcised to be healthy, of course, but you are very well-advised to make sure your penis can be kept clean and infection-free at all times. As you point out, keeping the foreskin retracted at all times is one way to go (and millions of a previous generation did this; another approach is to have a dorsal slit, which need not be overly long to be effective. One sure thing of course is that the 90-million American males who were circumcised at birth have never had foreskin/phimosis problems, and certainly have not missed them! Furthermore, a survey conducted some three years ago showed that as circumcised men age they have less sexual dysfunction, and more active sex lives, than their uncircumcised brethren. I personally believe strongly that it is much more destructive and psychologically damaging to keep a kid's attention focused on a painful, easily-infected penis for weeks or months at a time than to take whatever remedial action is needed (and this need not be over-drastic). You may be anti-circumcision, but you nevertheless owe it to your son to shield him from unnecessary trauma. This is important. Someone said that when you circumcise a boy you permanently affect his sexual life as a result; this is no doubt true, but you also affect him -- adversely -- when you put off taking necessary remedial action and allow him to continue suffering indefinitely with a chronic -- and unnecessary -- problem.
>And then there are those ofus males that were not circumcised at birth but have opted for exposing the glans for easy cleanliness and the view of the glans rather than the skin covered thing. With 60 yrs of exposed glans and with the ability to go either way, I find no sensitivity benefit covered, and improved response from the added sensation around the corona which comes from wearing it bare and having some degree of extra flare to the corona. As a teen I found that my foreskin would almost stay retracted but opted to remove some from the top to ensure the default to be exposed.
>There is a lot of hype for retaining all you were born with, I wouldn"t want fingernails hanging to my toes. I have a second set of teeth. My skin sheds a little every day. If it is not possible to improve why are we trimming or setting hair or adding clothes. Perhaps with no clothes and running through the bramble patch a foreskin is desirable for a covering. Perhaps if you want to miss the toilet and spray half the bathroom.
>It would be desirable to have MD's cut only enough to cure a problem, but that would create the possibility of "being different from the usual fully cut or the uncut. What works is the thing. Outside of your own thoughts it does seem either way works, and exposed is far cleaner with enough sensitivity for the sex drive to get you in trouble if you don't watch it!
>> Firstly, I agree that there isn't any infection and I don't think the doc knew what to do really, even though she is young and probably more aware of recent treatments etc. It is almost 2pm and we have an appointment at 5 today to see if the anti biotics have made a difference.
>> They haven't,... and the situation is the same as before the tablets.
>> When my sons pees, his forskin goes up in a small bubble where I assume the hole is underneath the skin, and we have tried to pull it back but he complains of it being ''too stingy'' so just as the head of the glans appears (with quite a lot of pressure though), we have to let it go again. He uses his foreskin as a passage to pee straight as when he tries to bring it back enough to see the hole, it just sprays everywhere for some reason. He can pull his forskin forward though and can put his finger inside his foreskin when pulled forward and can then feel the tip glans underneath....but he can't get his finger between the foreskin and glans, he can only touch the head. His foreskin opening is quite narrow...but can be pulled back with a bit of pressure, but I just don't know what is stopping it from going back further.
>> I am very anti circumcision and I know that this would give him reduced feeling during sex later on, so I would insist on either leaving it a few years, or trying the creams...but I'm not sure whether we should try the steroid creams NOW.....or wait until he's older for that too.
>> I guess we will just keep trying to manipulate it and see if this will release whatever is holding it to the glans. I will also try the suggestion of holding his foreskin closed while peeing for a few seconds and see if the whole thing goes up like a balloon...at the moment its just a small bubble which he pushes forward to flatten as he pees.
>> Thanks again, and I'll come back and let you know if it ballons or not.