how does circumcision cause E.D. in adults?

[ElliesMomma]

can anyone speak to this assertion?

Edited by ElliesMomma - 5/28/11 at 11:02pm

[Greg B]

Erectile disfunction is a complex issue that can have many causes, including psychological.  I have not read anything specific in a peer reviewed medical journal regarding erectile disfunction being caused by circumcision. 

What I can say, from my reading and experience is that as a circumcised male, sexual pleasure is much harder to achieve, especially past the age of 40.  It is very likely, in my mind, that circumcsion could contribute to any erectile problem, making it harder to acheive a fully erect penis, harder to maintain an erection, and much harder to reach climax.  This is simply because a circumcised man has had the most important part of his sexual anatomy amputated.  If you do not have all your euipment, you have a much harder time doing things.  Just like it takes a whole lot more work and time to chop down a tree with a hatchet compared to a felling axe.

Regards

Edited by Greg B - 7/24/11 at 5:44am

[hakunangovi]

I have read that, in general, circumcised men will start to experience sexual difficulties approximately ten years earlier than their intact counterparts. This is not surprising since most of the fine touch nerves are located in the foreskin, so the circumcised male has already lost three quarters of his "sensitivity". See www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/Sorrells-2007 . Some would argue saying that premature ejaculation is a common problem in circumcised males - which is true. However this is caused by the severing of the nerves connecting the fine touch receptors of the foreskin and the brain which allows an intact man to get feedback and "regulate" himself. Basicaly sex to a circumcised man is all about the destination, whereas an intact man gets to enjoy the ride first. Secondly, without the protection of the foreskin the glans of a circumcised male gets keratinized and dries out, so that what had been a very thin layer becomes about eight times thicker and buries what few nerves there are (located around the sulcus) www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/cold-mcgrath/ . This is an ongoing process, so that by the time a circumcised man is in his fifties there is often little feeling left.  It is also generaly recognised that a circumcised man will be rougher on his partner  www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/ahara/ .

One only has to look at the tremendous market in North America for Viagra, Cialis etc.  We are bombarded with commercials on TV on an hourly basis. I have not observed the same phenomenom in Europe.

Other articles that may be of interest include  the one written by Christianne Northrup: "How circumcision may be affecting your love life" at www.boystoo.com/medicalconversion.htm .  See also www.drmomma.org/2009/10/how-male--circumcision-impacts-your-love.html  and the article that appeared in Mens Health magazine many years ago: www.noharmm.org/separated.htm .

[AnnDMFT]

I am thinking of writing a blog on this very subject, so I will definitely be interested to see what people have to say!

[K703]

Another likely contributing factor to circumcision and ED is the fact that circ cuts off blood vessels and forces them to find alternate routes, which probably don't hold up as well as the natural series of arteries and veins in an intact penis.

[erin23kate]

http://www.cirp.org/library/sex_function/shen1/

 

[Erectile function evaluation after adult circumcision]

[Article in Chinese]

Shen Z, Chen S, Zhu C, Wan Q, Chen Z.

Department of Urology,
First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine,
Zhejiang University,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310003,
China.
[e-mail]

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the erectile function of adults after circumcision.

METHODS: Ninty-five patients were investigated on erectile function by questionnaire before and after circumcision, respectively.

RESULTS: Eighteen patients suffered from mild erectile dysfunction before circumcision, and 28 suffered from mild or moderate erectile dysfunction after circumcision (P = 0.001). Adult circumcision appeared to have resulted in weakened erectile confidence in 33 cases (P = 0.04), difficult insertion in 41 cases (P = 0.03), prolonged intercourse in 31 cases (P = 0.04) and improved satisfaction in 34 cases (P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS: Adult circumcision has certain effect on erectile function, to which more importance should be attached.

PMID: 14979200 [PubMed - in process]

[CIRP Comment: This study, unfortunately, was published in Chinese. We have only the English language abstract to guide us. Circumcision is uncommon in China, so these 95 men apparently were circumcised to treat a medical condition with a problem prepuce. Circumcision resulted in erectile dysfunction in 28 (28.4%), weakened erectile confidence in 33 (34.7%) difficult insertion in 41 (43.1%), prolonged intercourse in 31 (32.6%), and improved satisfaction in 34 (35.7%). It is likely that the inproved satisfaction resulted from being freed of the medical condition and the problem prepuce, not from the circumcision. This study tends to confirm the earlier findings of Fink et al.]

[serendipity22]

A small number of infants have a small artery in their penis cut during circumcision. Its seems possible to me these boys could have an increased risk of ED in later life.

Circumcision universally reduces blow flow in the penis. Many blood vessels have been removed or damaged. The erect circumcised penis is shorter and narrower in girth. It seems likely the chance of ED in later life are increased.

[AXEius]

Originally Posted by hakunangovi 

I have read that, in general, circumcised men will start to experience sexual difficulties approximately ten years earlier than their intact counterparts. This is not surprising since most of the fine touch nerves are located in the foreskin, so the circumcised male has already lost three quarters of his "sensitivity". See www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/Sorrells-2007 . Some would argue saying that premature ejaculation is a common problem in circumcised males - which is true. However this is caused by the severing of the nerves connecting the fine touch receptors of the foreskin and the brain which allows an intact man to get feedback and "regulate" himself. Basicaly sex to a circumcised man is all about the destination, whereas an intact man gets to enjoy the ride first. Secondly, without the protection of the foreskin the glans of a circumcised male gets keratinized and dries out, so that what had been a very thin layer becomes about eight times thicker and buries what few nerves there are (located around the sulcus) www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/cold-mcgrath/ . This is an ongoing process, so that by the time a circumcised man is in his fifties there is often little feeling left.  It is also generaly recognised that a circumcised man will be rougher on his partner  www.cirp.org/library/anatomy/ahara/ .

One only has to look at the tremendous market in North America for Viagra, Cialis etc.  We are bombarded with commercials on TV on an hourly basis. I have not observed the same phenomenom in Europe.

Other articles that may be of interest include  the one written by Christianne Northrup: "How circumcision may be affecting your love life" at www.boystoo.com/medicalconversion.htm .  See also www.drmomma.org/2009/10/how-male--circumcision-impacts-your-love.html  and the article that appeared in Mens Health magazine many years ago: www.noharmm.org/separated.htm .

exactly, if you can hardly feel your penis why would you get aroused!?

[mare54]

Well said!

[mare54]

And were you aware that the sale of artificial lubricants is a big business in the U.S?  In places where circumcision is not the norm, this is not the case.  Coincidence?  I think not.  That is because an unaltered penis has it's own natural means to keep the glans moistened and sensitive, so no need for anything artificial.  I think nature had it all figured out and humans do not have the right to interfere.

[mare54]

And not only that,  the foreskin of a newborn baby is actually attached to the infant glans and nature "un attaches" it usually by age 5, but it can be as late as the teen years.  Do we really believe that "cutting" these delicately designed genitals is a good thing to do to babies?  NO.

[mare54]

Good for you.  You are one of the lucky ones!

[Dan Bollinger]

The mechanism is unknown, but the association is strong. Here's the abstract for an article I wrote that will be published in the next few months. Like the Shen article, is shows the same link from circumcision to ED. ED is pshychosomatic, that is, having psychological and physiological components. 

Alexithymia and Circumcision Trauma: A Preliminary Investigation

Background: This preliminary study investigates what role early trauma might have in alexithymia acquisition for adults by controlling for male circumcision. Methods: Three hundred self-selected men were administered the Toronto Twenty-Item Alexithymia Scale checklist and a personal history questionnaire. Results: The circumcised men had age-adjusted alexithymia scores 19.9 percent higher than the intact men; were 1.57 times more likely to have high alexithymia scores; were 2.30 times less likely to have low alexithymia scores; had higher prevalence of two of the three alexithymia factors (difficulty identifying feelings and difficulty describing feelings); and were 4.53 times more likely to use an erectile dysfunction drug. Conclusion: Alexithymia in this population of adult men is statistically significant for having experienced circumcision trauma and for erectile dysfunction drug use.

[Keith Rutter]

As a 65 year old man, I can say from bitter experience that an older cut penis is a lot less usefull.  Mine is good only for urination, as it can take an hour to reach an orgasm, this has been getting worse since my 40s.  I realise that as people get older, their bodies become less effective, and the lost foreskin results in a much less sensitive penis as the Meissner corpuscles which are so important for satisfactory intercourse, are lost.  Add to this older woman's drier vagina, and you have a combination of deterioration.

[mare54]

Very interesting information.  Where will this article be published?

[mare54]

That is unfortunate.  Again I ask, why is it that men are so eager to do this to their sons?  Also, at least there is some help for vaginal dryness and some erectile/orgasm problems and that is testosterone therapy for men and bio identical hormone therapy for women.  The problem is that even if you have a good libido with the help of testosterone, the effects of missing foreskin and the less sensitive glans, creates a situation just as you describe.  I don't like the word "deterioration" ...... it just sounds so bleak.  I just wonder what the solution is?  just give up?  Settle for less, or nothing?  Ignore it?  Put the energy in your relationship to some other use?  I found the website, NORM (National Organization of Restoring Men), last night and I hope there are some solutions to be found there.

[Dan Bollinger]

See: Bollinger D, Van Howe, RS. Alexithymia and circumcision trauma: A preliminary investigation. Int J Men’s Health,.2011;10(2) (in press).

[mare54]

Thanks, I look forward to reading your article!

[Keith Rutter]

It is true that vaginal lubricants CAN help especially temporarilly, but none that I can buy are as good as the natural action of an intact penis.  KY Jelly is often recommended but it is after all intended for inserting catheters etc., not repeated thrusting by a dry penis for as long as it takes to achieve orgasm. in my case up to an hour.  My wife has dried out long before then and I've become numb, not to mention the strain on the rest of our bodies.

[mare54]

I still believe in, where there's a will, there's a way....but it does take two to make it happen.  If you have already given up, that is your choice, but I think it is sad.