Circumcision is not as painful
I read the medical publications that circumcision was good for men’s health and I started contemplating whether to do it or not. Health experts say it reduces the spread of HIV by 60%. The article also talked about the benefits. I finally decided to give it a try.
By Valentine
I read the medical publications that circumcision was good for men’s health and I started contemplating whether to do it or not. Health experts say it reduces the spread of HIV by 60%. The article also talked about the benefits. I finally decided to give it a try.
Apart from preventing HIV/AIDS, circumcision helps men to stay clean. They can also notice any infections they wouldn’t have noticed if the foreskin were present. And, from a Muslim woman’s experience, circumcised men are ‘good husbands’.
However, as with other irreversible decisions, it is important to have a personal conviction. Do not do it just because you have read this article or because you want to please someone.
I inquired about the best hospitals and was advised to go to a recognised health facility. I opted for Kibuli Hospital. Here, I told they do it on Monday, Wednesday and Friday every week.
I am not sure of the price because my insurers covered all the costs; but with all the prescriptions and dressings, it could come to sh150,000.
I left home at 6:00am to be able to beat the queue. The insurance lady arrived at 8:45am. She cleared me. Outside the theatre, I found a long queue, but there were few men that day.
Most of the patients were young boys and babies. The cutting process takes about 45 minutes. What pained me were the cries of the toddlers. Mothers, unable to bear the cries, went and sat far away after taking the baby into the theatre. The big men came out and walked as if nothing had happened.
A few minutes to 1:00pm, I was called in. In the theatre were two male surgeons and two female ones. I was told to drop my pants. I had never exposed my penis to a nurse, as with injections, they only see a bit of my bum.
Like a little child, I undressed. I was told to lie on the bed with my legs apart. They cleaned and shaved my pubic area before applying a disinfectant. The surgeon injected my penis at four points to make it numb.
On realising that the anaesthesia had worked, my doctor (a nice young man who kept cracking jokes, telling me the advantages of circumcision, making me forget all the fears) started doing his work. I could see him do the trimming but, amazingly, I did not feel any pain.
On the next bed was a baby being operated on. Though he cried a lot and I felt sorry, I was happy for him that his parents had done the right thing at the right time.
The only pain you feel during circumcision is when they are injecting you with anaesthesia. After 40 minutes, the doctor started stitching. He dressed me using a plaster and told me to stand up.
I felt dizzy and I was told to lie on the bed. Ten minutes later, I felt fine and was told to go down to collect the medication.
At home I took pain killers and slept soundly until the third day when I felt a bit feverish.
It is amazing, you can do anything. I travelled upcountry with the plaster still on. I could drive around, go out with friends, we even ended in a night club and danced the night away.
After circumcision the skin covering the head of your dick starts to peel off, leaving a hard surface, lending credence to what doctors say that it makes that part tough.
For all this time, I was moving around without pants. I could only put on a loose track suit made of light, smooth material. When the penis erects, you feel the pain. I was given saline solution to clean the wound. After three weeks, I could wear my pants again.
It is now six weeks since I was circumcised. I am not yet completely healed but I am good enough to do anything apart from sex.
For this, I have to wait until I am completely healed. I hope this will help explain to those who are still sceptical.
I read the medical publications that circumcision was good for men’s health and I started contemplating whether to do it or not. Health experts say it reduces the spread of HIV by 60%. The article also talked about the benefits. I finally decided to give it a try.
Apart from preventing HIV/AIDS, circumcision helps men to stay clean. They can also notice any infections they wouldn’t have noticed if the foreskin were present. And, from a Muslim woman’s experience, circumcised men are ‘good husbands’.
However, as with other irreversible decisions, it is important to have a personal conviction. Do not do it just because you have read this article or because you want to please someone.
I inquired about the best hospitals and was advised to go to a recognised health facility. I opted for Kibuli Hospital. Here, I told they do it on Monday, Wednesday and Friday every week.
I am not sure of the price because my insurers covered all the costs; but with all the prescriptions and dressings, it could come to sh150,000.
I left home at 6:00am to be able to beat the queue. The insurance lady arrived at 8:45am. She cleared me. Outside the theatre, I found a long queue, but there were few men that day.
Most of the patients were young boys and babies. The cutting process takes about 45 minutes. What pained me were the cries of the toddlers. Mothers, unable to bear the cries, went and sat far away after taking the baby into the theatre. The big men came out and walked as if nothing had happened.
A few minutes to 1:00pm, I was called in. In the theatre were two male surgeons and two female ones. I was told to drop my pants. I had never exposed my penis to a nurse, as with injections, they only see a bit of my bum.
Like a little child, I undressed. I was told to lie on the bed with my legs apart. They cleaned and shaved my pubic area before applying a disinfectant. The surgeon injected my penis at four points to make it numb.
On realising that the anaesthesia had worked, my doctor (a nice young man who kept cracking jokes, telling me the advantages of circumcision, making me forget all the fears) started doing his work. I could see him do the trimming but, amazingly, I did not feel any pain.
On the next bed was a baby being operated on. Though he cried a lot and I felt sorry, I was happy for him that his parents had done the right thing at the right time.
The only pain you feel during circumcision is when they are injecting you with anaesthesia. After 40 minutes, the doctor started stitching. He dressed me using a plaster and told me to stand up.
I felt dizzy and I was told to lie on the bed. Ten minutes later, I felt fine and was told to go down to collect the medication.
At home I took pain killers and slept soundly until the third day when I felt a bit feverish.
It is amazing, you can do anything. I travelled upcountry with the plaster still on. I could drive around, go out with friends, we even ended in a night club and danced the night away.
After circumcision the skin covering the head of your dick starts to peel off, leaving a hard surface, lending credence to what doctors say that it makes that part tough.
For all this time, I was moving around without pants. I could only put on a loose track suit made of light, smooth material. When the penis erects, you feel the pain. I was given saline solution to clean the wound. After three weeks, I could wear my pants again.
It is now six weeks since I was circumcised. I am not yet completely healed but I am good enough to do anything apart from sex.
For this, I have to wait until I am completely healed. I hope this will help explain to those who are still sceptical.