Are Most Studies on the Effects of Circumcision Just Bullshit?

I think a lot of them are. Studies usually have two groups circumcised and uncircumcised men, but reality certainly is more complicated.

Do not try this at home: Self circumcision devices purchased from the Internet

Just because someone sells you a new invention for a DIY circumcision it does not mean you should try it on yourself.

Don't Panic: Anatomical Variations

People sometimes panic that their circumcision is somehow 'misaligned' when the perineal raphe (that line on the underside of your penis that continues over and beyond your scrotum) is not exactly in the middle after the operation.

It is good to have a 'before' picture to compare it to, the raphe tends to wind all over the place and it is rarely centered perfectly around the foreskin section of the skin.

So, if after your circumcision your raphe is not in the middle it does not mean it has been shifted during the operation, it might just be where it always has been. If in doubt try to compare it to a 'before' picture.

Horror Story: Syrian man circumcised 9 boys with soldering gun in Sweden

Really, with a soldering gun? Ouch!

Even proper thermal cautery tools must hurt like hell without adequate anesthesia, but a soldering gun?

What's up with Partial Circumcisions?

I have mentioned on this blog several times the importance of removing the entire foreskin properly, and leaving the glans completely uncovered for health and comfort.

Yet people sometimes have their foreskin only shortened, not removed.

Does Medical Circumcision Hurt?

The first thing every single guy facing circumcision asks is how much it is going to hurt. Most people in developed countries get a circumcision in a medical setting, and with modern medicine really there should not be any pain.

This post is going to be different from my usually cheerful dismissal of concerns about circumcision pain, and mockery of grown men who claim that they desperately want a circumcised penis but they are too cowardly to go under the knife.

I do think that concerns about circumcision pain are blown out of proportion on the Internet, often for the purpose to serve as propaganda against circumcision. But that is no excuse not to admit that sometimes shit does happen, and people experience far more discomfort than what they have bargained for.

This post may not make the best bed time story if you are going under the knife in the near future.

Just a warning, some parts of this post may be very disturbing, you may end up wishing you haven't read it.

Some Thoughts on the Healing Process

 I really try to avoid giving advice, but there are so many weird things circulating on social media that I feel compelled to clean up some points.

Check this out: Psychological and sexual effects of circumcision in adult males

An interesting publication on the effect of circumcision on psychology and body image:

 Psychological and sexual effects of circumcision in adult males

Circumcision Pain, Masculinity and Spirituality

Traditionally circumcision and pain used to go hand in hand. Later anesthesia was invented and circumcision became a medical procedure instead of being just  a religious / cultural practice, and the relationship has become more complicated.

Reasonable Style Choices

 People seem to obsess about circumcision styles these days as if style choice was some sort of fashion statement.

Circumcision Means Cutting off the Foreskin

Just arguing semantics here. People always talk about various things being similar to a circumcision, or even think of them as 'a kind of circumcision'.

One could wear his foreskin retracted 24/7 which would have most of the same health benefits as being circumcised. Or one could be born without a foreskin (aposthia).

Do not try this at home: DIY Circumcisions with a Circumcision Stapler

 Recently several stories have surfaced on social media complete with videos of young men circumcising themselves with a circumcision stapler.

Do not try this at home: Attempted DIY Circumcision with a Kitchen Knife

One more story to show why it is a bad idea to try to cut your own dick -- with a knife from your kitchen, nevertheless. Seriously, don't do it!

 A 30-year old man in Morocco attempted to circumcise himself with a vegetable knife.

HIV, Circumcision & The Fight Against AIDS