Is circumcision a painful procedure?
The foreskin is an area where nerves are highly populated, and circumcision can be a very painful procedure if appropriate pain relief methods are not applied. Since pain is considered a natural part of the circumcision ritual, circumcision has been practiced for centuries without any measures against pain. However, from a medical point of view, pain is a problem that needs to be cared for and solved. It is also known that severe pain experienced during circumcision may have negative effects on the child’s life in the future.
Who should be circumcised?
Today, the vast majority of circumcisions are performed for cultural and religious reasons. Almost all Muslims and Jews all over the world are circumcised. Also, circumcision is a widely practiced procedure in the United States of America for cultural and health reasons.
However, there are also medical conditions in which circumcision should be applied as a treatment method. The most important one of them is phimosis. This is when the foreskin cannot be stripped enough to expose the glans penis. While this is a normal situation in newborns and small babies, it can become a problem with the advancing of age. Sometimes it may develop later due to infections, and the primary method in the treatment of this condition is circumcision.
History of Circumcision
Circumcision is one of the oldest surgical procedures that has been used in the history of humankind. There are many theories about the origin of the circumcision practice. However, it is certain that the circumcision practice started before written history and its origin got lost in the depths of history. The oldest available source on the origins of circumcision is ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs dated 2400 BCE. In Ancient Egypt, the male sexual organ was thought to be a symbol of abundance and power. A small piece of this organ was cut and given to the goddesses as a sign of devotion to the god.
Newborn circumcision
The circumcision performed within the first month after the birth is called newborn circumcision. Widely practiced in Jews and in the United States, newborn circumcision has been practiced more and more frequently in our country recently. The advantages of this procedure can be listed as the fact that it can be applied with local anesthesia, it does not leave any negative psychological scars on the child, and it heals quickly.