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Letters to the Editor
OB/GYN January 2002
To the Editor:
Dr Tiberius' letter in your November issue (The Female Patient.
2001;26[11]:15–16) seemed more politically correct than medically
illuminating. Without question, poor hygiene can cause medical problems,
but to imply that the penis is a germ's paradise seems a bit of
a stretch at the very least and, at the very most, makes all sex
seem dirty. Bacteria can be cultured anywhere on the body, not just
the penis, and these organisms are generally benign. Male and female
genital systems are not naturally sterile, but they are also remarkably
free of infection in most cases.
I would suggest that multiple partners, sexually transmitted diseases,
and various immune deficiencies are more often the cause of genitourinary
problems than are germs on the outside skin of a circumcised penis.
H. Dean Bresnahan, MD
Brattleboro, Vt
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