[ ARC forum 2 ]

Re: Help

Written by Richard at 14 Dec 2001 20:18:38:

As an answer to: Re: Help written by Paul B. at 14 Dec 2001 18:53:25:

>And so we gathered. Point is, Richard is taking the cautious line that you perhaps should see a doctor just in case especially if you make comments like "half of the infection has gone away." It would be a lot more reassuring if you had said all indications of infection had gone away.

Yes, you should see a doctor because we can't diagnose things over the internet, and if we try we may do more harm than good.

>Well, quite frankly, Jim, Richard and myself are quite strongly "anti-circ".

Now, hmm... not sure I'm happy to have my views assimilated to those of others' I've never met. I have *very* deliberately abstained from the ping-pong postings by Paul, Jim and AJ. Have your arguments if you like. I am concerned that young men and teenagers will get confused by arguments framed in general terms when they come here for individual advice tailored to their specific needs. And I am concerned that those who find the advice we post helpful are put off from returning to help others in the same position.

For the record, I am against unnecessary infant circumcision for religious, traditional or cosmetic reasons. If young adults find they have a foreskin that does not function as they want it to, I hope that by coming here they can learn about how things are 'supposed' to work. And I would hope they'd try the various stretching techniques we've posted first, rather than going straight to a doctor and unknowingly being circumcised.

But the point is this: from a cursory reading of the literature on the internet, it appears to me that the basic research hasn't been done on the prevalence and incidence of tight foreskins, let alone the rationale and effectiveness of less radical treatments. So any advice we give has to be tentative, guarded and with a general principle underlying it: we can only report the anecdotal and partial evidence we've got.

I applaud campaigners against routine circumcision in the USA and elsewhere. But if an individual has tried stretching without success it may be that surgery is necessary, not least because of the extreme emotional distress that can arise from the pain caused by attempting sexual intercourse with a tight foreskin. I know: been there, done that and cried like a baby. So if an individual makes a fully informed decision to opt for surgery then we have to respect that choice. The argument goes something like this: if one opposes infant circumcision on the grounds that it involves removing the freedom of choice, we can't very well complain when someone exercises that freedom of choice as a mature adult.

There, that's all I've got to say on the matter, let's get back to helping people with very immediate problems.

Richard


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