Doctors put the sand under the foreskin myth to rest

[Nandi]

Remember all those myths about soldiers getting sand under their foreskins in desert environments and there needing to be mass circumcisions of soldiers? New Zealand doctors studied medical records from several wars, and found this to be untrue.
http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/118-1218/1564/
Check out the article from the New Zealand Medical Journal.

[latinalonestar]

Awesome find!

[bluetoes]

That is such an interesting article. A good one to share with people to point out the ludicrous nature of circ. I love nothing more than to say 'urban myth' to people who spread such silly stories.

I am reminded of the woman who told me I had to circ or else laundry lint would get in there. GASP - should I have my belly button removed also!?

[pantufla]

Great article!

[veganf]

I am reminded of the woman who told me I had to circ or else laundry lint would get in there. GASP - should I have my belly button removed also!?

[Sileree]

Originally Posted by Nandi

Remember all those myths about soldiers getting sand under their foreskins in desert environments and there needing to be mass circumcisions of soldiers? New Zealand doctors studied medical records from several wars, and found this to be untrue.
http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/118-1218/1564/
Check out the article from the New Zealand Medical Journal.

Lol. What, do the soldiers crawl in the sand naked?

[Ruthla]

Yeah, don't soldiers wear underwear AND uniform pants when they're crawling around in the sand?

Now, I can imagine some activities that could result in sand under the foreskin, but I don't think I can elaborate without violating the UA. Nor do I think soldiers would be engaging in this kind of behavior during combat situations.

[1littlebit]

people are really wacky. what do they think people did pre mass mutilation? those poor miserable men running around with sand in their foreskins. i think girls are far more at risk for sand in unfortunate places. lol. thank god they proved that false. especially since i just don't see grown men consenting to circ due to a little sand

[tammyswanson]

That is such a great article! Thanks for sharing, I'm putting a link to it in my email siggy! I loved this quote from the article by Robert Darby:

The only point of agreement among proponents of the numerous theories is that a practical objective such as health had nothing to do with it. This is not surprising: before aseptic surgery, any cutting of flesh carried a high risk of bleeding, infection and death.

So much for the 'it's cleaner' myth!

[bluetoes]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

Yeah, don't soldiers wear underwear AND uniform pants when they're crawling around in the sand?

Now, I can imagine some activities that could result in sand under the foreskin, but I don't think I can elaborate without violating the UA. Nor do I think soldiers would be engaging in this kind of behavior during combat situations.

Like in 'From Here to Eternity.' But wasn't actually in combat during that part!

[Frankly Speaking]

The sand under the foreskin myth is an obvious invention of circumcised men to justify circumcising other men. It defies all logic and reason.

Supposedly, the mechanics of the myth is that sharp sand grains get under the foreskin and in the foreskin rubbing back and forth between the foreskin and glans, it abrades or cuts into the surface of the inner foreskin or glans causing abrasions or actual cuts which then become infected and thus requires circumcision.

The actual fact is that the inner foreskin does not move against the glans so there is no friction or abrasion possible. When retracting, the foreskin rolls inward to outward in a friction free movement. Heck, you could pack the foreskin full of sharp sand and this wouldn't happen. More over, the man could simply slightly pinch the tip of the foreskin retaining some urine inside the foreskin to flush any sand out as he urinated.

This makes one wonder why circumcised men want other men circumcised so badly that they will invent these myths and why others are so eager to accept them and perpetrate the myths.



Frank

[Nandi]

Yes and I believe they also mentioned in the article that since it is considered myth it is not usually academically studied, resulting in people being able to spread the misinformation, without people having any solid data other than common sense with which to refute the stupid argument.