Circumcision and UTIs

Well that last post sure stirred some things up. I doubt these will do the same but we shall see. Next I am going to tackle the reasons to circumcise. I will only concentrate on the ones commonly used today, becuase going over all of them will take the rest of my life. The first thing I am going to do is concentrate on the medical reasons to circumcise. I will post these from most absurd to, well kinda sorta. Next I will talk about the cultural reasons to circumcise. First up, obviously, is UTIs.

This is one of the less touted benefits of circumcision, but it is still worth addressing. Many claim that circumcision in males lowers the risk of urinary tract infections, or UTIs. One problem in defending against this claim, is that proponents of circumcision cannot agree on what exactly circumcision does for UTIs. Many studies seem to indicate that circumcised males are less likely to get a UTI but only in their first year of life. Other studies claim that the odds are reduced for the circumcised male's entire life. One study even found that Jewish circumcision performed by mohels actually increased the odds of UTIs. (1)(2)

UTIs are much more common in females than males. A typical female can expect to have one UTIs in her lifetime statistically speaking. Roughly one in one-hundred males will ever experience a UTI whether circumcised or uncircumcised.(*) When anyone gets a UTI they usually take this neat new pill called an antibiotic. As a UTI is a bacterial infection, antibiotics work wonders. Doctors are supposed to perform the least invasive, effective treatment which mean that pills > surgery. I hate to be so unbalanced on this, but performing surgery to prevent a rare, minor, easily treated condition is silly. First off, you are preventing something that the vast majority of people will not get. 2nd, even if they do get it, it really isn't a big deal. Pop some pills, and everything will return to normal in a few days.

(1)Prais D, Shoov-Furman R, & Amir J. Is ritual circumcision a risk factor for neonatal urinary tract infections? Arch. Dis. Child. published online 6 Oct 2008.

(2) article about Jewish Circumcision and UTIs

(*) Like any other statistic, different sources quote different numbers. The general concept that females are much more likely than men to get a UTI is the same.