Is Circumsicion Safe For Your Baby?

 Circumcision nowadays is very common. It is definitely a rite of passage for people form many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.  I am not saying in this blog that I am for or against the procedure in any way but I thought it was an interesting subject especially for new parents who are wondering 'To circumcise or not to circumcise – that is the question.' 

There is only a risk in a circumcision operation if it is poorly carried out.  If the procedure is done badly there can be postoperative bleeding and sometimes an infection from a homemade circumcision can be fatal.  In fact, the American Medical Association says that bleeding and infection are the most common of the complications associated with the procedure even if you do have it done in a hospital. In most cases the bleeding caused by a cirmcision is stopped within minutes of pressure being applied to the cut.

Symptoms of serious complications due to a circumcision include problems with the lymph glands, ulcers around the tip of the baby's penis, impotence, cysts and loss of the penis due to necrosis.  One side effect that is not evident until your child is much older is pain when the penis is erect. These types of conditions ten to occur when a surgeon or urologist is not the person conducting the operation. 

Thankfully there are simple and common procedures that can help correct this situation if it does happen. This is just precautionary talk and for you interest only.

Not that many baby penises are ever lost to a condition like penile necrosis.  The American Academy of physicians says it is two in a million. A study done in Isreal says it's one in a million.   Circumcision seems to be a very safe procedure in general. The AMA says that complications occur in 2% of cases.  However the American Academy Family of physicians says that as many as 35% of circumcisions cause problems. However the benefits of getting your child circumcised has health benefits that seem to far outweigh the risks. For one thing, the entire pubic are is a cleaner and there is less risk of infection. Men who have circumcisions also don't tend to suffer from yeast infections like uncircumcised men do.   

The World Health Organization published an article in the Library of Science Medicine Journal in July 2006 that stated that men who have been circumcised have a lower risk of contracting and also spreading AIDS. The study then went on to postulate that if all men in the world were circumcised over the next ten years then two million new cases of AIDS could be avoided. Does this mean that we should get our children circumcised to spare millions from suffering?    

However as a woman with daughter, I am thinking that an even bigger plague could be prevented if all men were circumcised.  Many studies have shown that men who are uncircumcised men are at greater risk of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, which is transferred to women. Women then develop warts, which lead to cervical cancer. It is estimated that 94% of women in the United States have already contracted this virus thanks to sex with male carriers. 

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Is Your Kid Depressed?

 Depression is a serious health problem that affects children as well as adults. A child can get depression after the loss of a loved one or a traumatic emotional event. Children who have been abused or constantly criticized can also develop chronic depression,

 Sometimes it is hard for depression to be diagnosed in a child. Often the child seems as lazy as the child suffers fatigue and may insist on lying around. The lack of motivation and energy that goes along with depression may be seen as stubbornness. Like adults, children who are depressed either overeat or undereat and develop a dislike of exercising and socializing. They may also become disinterested in their usual hobbies and interests.

Children that are most likely to experience depression are those who have experienced the loss of a pet or loved one (such as a parent or a sibling and those who already are experiencing some kind of disability or learning disorder such as Asperger's syndrome, dyslexia or Attention Deficit Disorder. If not treated depression can lead to failing grades, violence, alcohol, drug use and obesity 

A child with depression – 

Will wear clothes that cover most of the skin on the body

May insist on wearing the same thing every day

Refuses to look anyone in the eye

Uses his or her hair to cover the faceIs always irritable

Cries easilyIs unusually sarcastic or sardonic

May tell morbid tales or be obsessed with death

Prefers to watch television all day

Falls asleep at school or refuses to get up in the morning

Has insomnia or wakes up too early in the morning

Refuses to make decisions

Has many vague physical problems such as stomachaches and headaches

Cries easily

Shows inappropriate emotion or none at all (such as laughing at the death of a pet)

Talks about death or suicide

Talks about running away from home (apparently four out of five runaways were motivated by depression to leave home)

 The sad fact is that as many as one in every three children and one in eight adolescents living in the United States might have depression. This is according to a health study done in 1996. 

Another fact is that teenage girls are more likely to suffer from depression –at least according to the National Institute of Mental Health. There is also quite a bit of evidence that depression is hereditary so if you have a relative in the family with the disorder it is likely that one of your children or you may suffer from it too. 

The consequences of untreated depression in childhood can be devastating as your child grows older For one thing it is a precursor for all sorts of personality disorders and serious depression in adult hood. It also means that your child is at increased risk for such problems as addiction, alcoholism, manic depression and suicide. 

 The fact that it can be so dehabilitating when your child becomes an adult is why it is so important for parents, teachers and guardians to detect depression in children early before it becomes a chronic and self-sabotaging chronic condition that lasts a lifetime.

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