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How Circumcision Prevents Some Stds
Advocates of circumcision believe that the advantages far outweigh the perceived risks, saying it has a low complication rate when performed by an experienced physician. Studies show that circumcision has no substantial effects on sexual function, and is best performed during the neonatal period. According to a data from a study in Uganda, circumcised men have a 25% lower risk of genital herpes and a 35% lower risk of HPV, the virus that causes genital warts and cancers. The study has proven that circumcision is effective in reducing a man's risk of HIV infection from heterosexual sex. The two-year study involved nearly 3,400 men negative for HSV-2, the genital herpes virus. Johns Hopkins researcher Aaron A.R. Tobian, MD, PhD, and colleagues said the findings indicate that circumcision should now be accepted as an efficacious intervention for reducing heterosexually acquired infections with HSV-2, HPV, and HIV in adolescent boys and men. “However, it must be emphasized that protection was only partial, and it is critical to promote the practice of safe sex,” said the researchers. The study did not show whether circumcision has any effect on homosexual transmission of HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases ( STDs). Some studies have suggested that circumcised men may be at lower risk of syphilis, but the Tobian study found no evidence to support this. Syphilis rates in the study were similar in both circumcised and uncircumcised men. Nevertheless, circumcised men in the study had fewer genital ulcers. There are at least three ways how circumcision can prevent STDs: When the foreskin is removed, the skin covering the head of the penis becomes tougher. That may protect against “microtears” during sex that can provide a point of entry for germs. The mucosal lining of the foreskin may allow germs to penetrate to underlying skin cells. After sex, the foreskin may prolong the time that tender skin is exposed to germs. Circumcised men may be protecting not only their sex partners, but themselves as well. Data from earlier studies indicate that monogamous women with circumcised sex partners are only half as likely to get cervical cancer as women with uncircumcised sex partners. And the Tobian study shows that circumcision cuts the risk of HPV, the virus that can cause cervical cancer. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Mark Walters is a part-time writer and a part-time researcher. He is currently self-studying various Far Eastern languages and is an avid fiction reader. He is currently writing articles oriented towards consumers of pharmaceutical products.
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