Urinary Tract Infection Symptoms
Uncircumcised Penis and Urinary Tract Infection
Circumcision, irrespective of whether it is for adults or for newborns, is a controversial matter. There is so much misinformation and religious sentiment involved that is impossible to sift fact from fiction. On one side are reports that UK was prompted to review its circumcision policy due to deaths associated with neonatal circumcision due to unrecognized infection or clotting disorders. On the other side are claims of definite biological advantages like protection against urinary tract infection (UTI), reduced risk of sexually transmitted disease in promiscuous men and prevention of penile cancer. Circumcision is also believed to enhance sexual experience as circumcised men have more sensation in the penis. Regardless of the debate, adult circumcision does have some advantages for men with uncircumcised penis who have phimosis or difficulty in retracting their foreskin. Such people have three options before them. They can do nothing and wait for the problem to get worse or better or remain stable. Forcible retracting can worsen the condition. The second option is to opt for a dorsal slit to open the foreskin simply by cutting a one or two inch longitudinal scar at the top of the foreskin. The third, of course, is to get circumcised.rn
It must also be conceded that the discussion about phimosis and circumcision is simple as compared to UTI and circumcision. There are two confliction opinions in this regard. One set of experts argue that circumcision can cure urinary tract infection while the other set claims that it causes it. Thomas E. Wiswell, a US Army pediatrician is accredited providing a sensational statistic that circumcision resulted in ten to hundred times reduction in urinary infections. His findings too raised a lot of controversy at that time. Even after so many years it is still open to doubt whether treatment urinary tract infection is possible with circumcision or not.
Urinary tract infection is a bacterial infection that affects any part of the urinary tract, from the kidneys down to the urethra and penis. Although UTI can cause a great deal of discomfort, it is easily treated with the aid of antibiotics.
Urinary tract infection symptoms include frequent and painful urination; need to urinate at night, pus or blood in urine and mild fever, if the infection is in the bladder. Kidney infection presents symptoms like vomiting, groin pain, night sweats, high fever and extreme fatigue.
It boils down to balancing risks against benefits of circumcision. On one side is the fact that UTI is relatively less common and easily treatable. The flip side is that circumcision is a surgical procedure that has certain known complications including bleeding and surgical mishaps.
The answer may be found in a recent study that concluded that a circumcised boy is 3.7 times less likely to be hospitalized for UTI. That puts the ball in your court again. Circumcision is a personal preference and the decision should be taken after proper risk analysis.