Male Circumcision in the Philippines - Why the Health department requires it

Boys, aging from 10 to 12 years old are getting fidgety because of the clamor to be circumsized this summer of 2011. Even some men who are getting married shyly line up for the same purpose.

The purpose of getting circumsized are:

1.  rite of passage to teenage life
   
2.  part of religion or culture
3.  for personal hygiene purposes

Myths or Falsity about circumcision:

• Once circumcised, the boy will be taller.
• Avoid eating smelly foods to avoid allergies.
• The wound will worsen if seen by girls.

Mockery of being uncircumcised usually resulted to fighting. So, boys are encouraged by their parents or even friends to undergo such procedure during summer. It's a sort of fraternity even at young age.

It also boosts their confidence and shyness fades away as the summer ends and they enter into another stage of puberty, the teenage life.

Men are heterosexual. Male circumcision is on the advocacy of the Department of Health (DOH) in order to lower STD (sexually transmitted diseases) in the country. One of the main killers of Filipino men HIV/AIDS. So,

Some cultures and people, especially Hebrews, circumcise babies after 9 to 12 days where keratin, of vitamin K is at its fullest where blood clotting helps to make the procedure successful.

Meanwhile, Filipino children are circumcised because it's part of the culture and for health purposes.

Doctors advise that it will benefit a boy to be clean and responsible for his well-being.During circumcision process, the foreskin is removed to lessen the sensitivity of the organ. It also exposes the male urinal tube for uninterrupted urination (without blockade). Urinary tract infection (UTI) is seldom among men who undergone circumcision.

Doctors, further advised that those boys that will undergo circumcision are ready to tackle the challenges, not forced by his friends or parents to do it.

I've been circumcised when I was 12. It's just a single cut splitting the foreskin, with the help of our adult-male friend. I was submerged naked on the cold water of the creek. Then when I felt numbness on my private organ, he motioned me to fit the foreskin on the lansadera (a special form of wood usually made from guava tree) then with a single hit on the stainless lanzeta (knife used by barbers for shaving), the foreskin split. It was not cut; it only drooped under the penile glans. Then,  I chewed some young guava leaves then it was put on the wound before the bandage was wound around it.It served as antiseptic to control infection.

In other words, the wound worsen due to the absence of doctor's help. After the first night, I immediately clean it with lukewarm boiled guava leaves. My elder brother cautioned me not to tell my sisters about it in order not to aggravate the wound; which was a fallacy.

For kids and teenagers who'll undergo the same procedure but with the doctors, here's some tips to treat your wounds properly after circumcision.

1. During the first day, don't wet the wound. Take a pain reliever as first-aid treatment.
2. On the second day, remove the bandage. Clean it with soap and water and wear loose pants to avoid hitting the wound.
3. Always change the bandage, after cleaning.
   

. It will take a week to 10 days for the wound to heal.

You can still enjoy the remaining days of summer...renewed and ready to discover the teenage life.