Circumcision is said to promote good penile hygiene, but even a circumcised man has to wash his willy if he wants to avoid infection. The myth that circumcision is cleaner comes from the fact that a substance can accumulate beneath the foreskin. This is called smegma, which is wrongfully considered unclean. Fresh smegma is very clean, a combination of oils, dead skin, and antibodies. The foreskin is believed to provide an ideal environment for bacteria colonization, but the antibodies in fresh smegma actually prevent this from occurring.
When smegma is allowed to accumulate unchecked, this can be unclean and unhealthy. Any penis that is not appropriately washed is at risk of infection. Dirt and bacteria can collect under the foreskin just as it can collect on the scrotum or pubic hair. Simply rinsing your penis in warm water can eliminate the build-up and destroy a lot of the germs that may be hiding out there. It is true that if an intact man does not wash his penis, he is inviting infection, but this is true of any man who does not appropriately bathe. Good hygiene is crucial for the health of every person in this world.
Researchers have tried to prove that the foreskin provides a way for germs causing UTI, HPV, HIV, and various other ailments to invade. The truth is that these things can be absorbed through membranes in the penis, foreskin or not. The studies done have been flawed at best, and most medical organizations agree that the data is inconclusive to proclaim that circumcision has any disease-preventing benefits. People have tried to say that circumcising a penis makes it easier to keep clean, decreasing risk of infection. There is little evidence to support this, but surmounting evidence that proves it false.
In the early years of life, a circumcised penis is actually harder to keep clean. The penis, no longer protected by the foreskin, is exposed almost constantly to feces and urine, an environment that hardly promotes healing. Parents must retract a small amount of skin and clean the circumcision site to prevent infection and adhesion. It is possible for feces and urine to collect in this area and cause irritation, even ulcers. The foreskin of an intact male remains closed around his glans for many years. No special care is needed. Cleaning a young boy’s foreskin is like wiping a long, flat finger.
Later in life, the foreskin needs to be retracted so that the area between it and the shaft can be cleaned. This does not need to be done until the foreskin is capable of retracting, because until then no foreign bodies can get under the foreskin anyway. An uncircumcised man must be as sure to clean the circumcision site as an intact man to clean under the foreskin. Dirt can still collect at the circumcision site if it is not kept clean. Therefore circumcised men and intact men alike must be active in maintaining their own good penile hygiene. This is not difficult or time-consuming.
Boys and men are quite capable of keeping their own bodies clean, if they are taught how to do so. Circumcising a baby makes maintaining proper hygiene in the first few years more difficult. Even a circumcised man must wash his penis and clean around the circumcision site, so that debris does not collect there and cause irritation. Anytime you don’t wash a part of your body, you are increasing your risk of infection. You wouldn’t lop off your fingernail to prevent getting a fungus under there, so why would we cut off part of a penis for a similar reason?
The truth is that circumcision is very painful, for infants and adults alike. Even when pain relief is administered to the patient, the penis is sore throughout the recovery time and prone to infection. The foreskin is a functional organ with a purpose, which is to protect the penis from bacterial infection, to provide lubrication during intercourse, and to enhance the sexual experience of the man. It would be far better to teach our boys how to care for their foreskins than for us to cut them off at birth. Teaching good hygiene is safer, cheaper, and much more effective than circumcising.
