Circumcision is a surgical procedure to remove the foreskin that covers the head of the penis. It’s typically performed on healthy newborn boys within their first few days of life.
Circumcision has numerous medical advantages, and it may also reduce the risk of certain sexually transmitted diseases and cancers. It’s essential to discuss both the pros and cons with your child’s doctor prior to circumcision.
Reduced Risk of Prostate Cancer
Circumcision Melbourne has many benefits, one of which being its reduction of prostate cancer risk. Men who have undergone circumcision prior to having their first sexual encounter are 15% less likely to develop prostate cancer than noncircumcised individuals.
Circumcision has also been linked to reduced rates of sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) such as chlamydia and H.I.V. This could be because circumcision removes the foreskin, which can harbor infectious germs.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men after lung cancer and it claims more than one million lives annually. While it tends to affect those of advanced age and African ancestry more severely, researchers are working hard to reduce this risk through prevention measures.
Reduced Risk of HIV
One of the primary advantages of circumcision is reduced HIV risk. Since HIV acquisition tends to occur more frequently in inner foreskin tissues than outer penile shaft skin, circumcision reduces exposure of these tissue areas during sexual contact.
Circumcision can reduce HIV susceptibility by decreasing local inflammation in the penile tissue and maintaining barrier integrity. Furthermore, by excising the inner foreskin, one reduces their number of HIV-prone CD4+ T cells.
According to a pooled adjusted incidence ratio (IR), voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) led to a 46% reduction in HIV acquisition among Zimbabwean fishing community men and a 16.8% decrease among Lake Victoria fishing community men. These impressive reductions suggest that VMMC can have an important role in alleviating HIV prevalence rates in high HIV prevalence settings.
Reduced Risk of Cervical Cancer
According to data from several case-control studies, women whose male partners undergo circumcision have a reduced risk of cervical cancer.
Circumcision of the male partner can be combined with other HPV prevention strategies, such as vaccination and fidelity, to enhance protection. Unfortunately, none of these interventions alone is 100% successful.
A large study conducted in Uganda found that male circumcision was associated with lower rates of HPV infection. Unfortunately, its findings had many flaws such as lead-time bias and a high loss to follow-up, plus it failed to assess the underlying cause of cervical cancer.
Reduced Risk of Urinary Tract Infections
Circumcision can reduce the risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs), one of the most prevalent and serious bacterial infections in children. This benefit is especially true for boys with antenatal hydronephrosis, a condition in which there is an abnormal urethral opening that makes urinating difficult.
Researchers conducted a group of studies on 402 908 children and discovered that circumcision was significantly linked to lower risks of UTI. This association held true when comparing uncircumcised boys to circumcised ones with antenatal hydronephrosis as well as healthy controls.
Researchers discovered that circumcision made a difference in the incidence of hospital admissions for UTI during the first year after birth, with uncircumcised boys having a 10-fold higher risk of UTI during that first year and an overall 23% increased risk throughout their lives.
Reduced Risk of Sexually Transmitted Infections
There is evidence to support the claim that circumcision can reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). An STI is an infection caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites and spread through vaginal, oral or anal sex between people.
Receiving an STD can be unpleasant and embarrassing, but many are curable with antibiotics. You can also reduce the risk of getting one by wearing protection during sexual activity and getting tested regularly for infections.
Circumcised men have a lower likelihood of infection with anal HPV, syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhoea and HBV than non-circumcised men; this finding is in line with previous studies looking at these risks among those who engage in sexual activities with men.