GEORGE NEWS - Male medical circumcision (MMC) cannot always be an easy choice to make, but it is a healthy one. With the focus on youth month, the Department of Health turned the spotlight on youth-related health issues like nutrition, mental health, substance abuse and MMC.
"Being young is a wonderful time, but it comes with great responsibility. The health choices that our youth make today can have a lifelong impact," was the message.
MMC is performed free at Thembalethu Clinic every Thursday, but the department gave outreach dates for George during June when young men could go to the clinic. Ryan Kock, programme coordinator at the clinic, says it is wonderful to see dads and sons arrive to have this done.
"We see some moms together with their sons, but mostly it is the dads that bring their sons."
ock says there are two groups that the department wants to focus on this year, the age groups 10 to 14 and 15 to 17 years. In both cases the parent has to come with the child to give consent. Previously the younger boys could have MMC done by appointment at George Hospital, but the word has gone out that it is now done at the clinic. Since February, they have seen about 15 patients per week.
Two dads who brought their sons to get MMC done spoke to the George Herald. Both said that, before coming, they first discussed the importance of the procedure and the fact that it is the responsible thing to do. One dad said he had given his 11-year-old son a choice between doing it now in a clinic or getting it done the traditional way.
The second dad said his son is 12 and with boys growing up so fast, they thought it was best to get it done now rather than later.
According to Kock, the procedure is done by trained doctors at the clinic, and they give medical advice on how to treat the wound. "The patient gets follow-up dates to come back to the clinic for treatment of the wound, so the clinic is involved for up to six weeks," he said. He stressed that it remains a choice that boys and their parents have to make together.
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