Dear Dr Williams-Green,

I read your article and thought it was very biased towards circumcision. I think it was very misleading and did not reflect the real truth about the male sexual organ. I have done a lot of reading on the topic from various doctors and so on. Please note that:

Circumcision does not prevent penile cancer.

Circumcision does not prevent cervical cancer in the female partners of circumcised men.

Circumcision does not prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

Circumcision does not prevent AIDS or HIV infection.

Circumcision does not improve penile hygiene.

Circumcision does not prevent infections.

Circumcision does not prevent urinary tract infection.

The bottom line is cleanliness not mutilation. We should emphasise and teach cleanliness. Kind regards.

Dear Barrington,

Thanks much for your comments and the websites you sent me. As a general practitioner I give my patients all the information available to me. The present scientific evidence points to advantages and disadvantages to both circumcision and uncircumcision. There is no hard and fast final statement on the decision to circumcise or not. Each man should make the decision based on his needs and cultural preferences after looking at the available evidence.

Dear Dr Williams-Green

I read your article. I say 'yes' to circumcision. I am interested in being circumcised. Can you suggest where I can get it done? Thanks and regards.

Dear Jerome,

Discuss your interest in circumcision with your family doctor. If you decide to go ahead with circumcision, then the doctor will refer you to a surgeon for this outpatient procedure. Best wishes

Dear Dr Williams-Green,

I read with much interest your article on circumcision. As always, I find your articles informative. With that said, I must say that I am a young man struggling with the decision of circumcision.

As an adolescent, I had to forcibly get the foreskin back and succeeded in doing so after about two or three months. I guess you can well imagine the pain I endured. I have not had any pain as such since then. However, I do get a lot of tear of the skin when I happen to go with females who are rather close (tight) in the vagina.

This can be most painful and sometimes keeps me sexually inactive for three to four days. It also requires frequent washing of the underlying area of the foreskin, otherwise, I notice that a bit of a scent will develop, due to urination. My question to you is this. Is it okay for a man of my age to do a circumcision? If so, kindly say what the risks are, if any at all.

Dear Reader,

Your letter expresses your difficulty and discomfort in dealing with a tight foreskin. I would strongly encourage you to visit your general practitioner to examine your foreskin and penis. She will write a referral to a general surgeon at your request. She can also advise you of medical risks you may face. The circumcision can be done under local anaesthesia and does not usually require hospital admission. Cheers!

Dive in

Dear Dr Gardner,

Thanks for the written version of swimming lessons. Now, perhaps you can take your work a step further and help to expand the number of low-cost opportunities for Jamaicans to learn to swim, especially those who are not able to read and swim at the same time.