Circumcision is a painful medical procedure. The popular belief about newborns not feeling any pain is totally unfounded.

Many children are circumcised without any effective pain killers. This is cruel!

There is overwhelming evidence that circumcision is a painful procedure. It is foolish to believe that a little boy doesn’t feel pain when part of his skin in a very sensitive area is cut!

There are two ways to reduce or eliminate the pain.

1- General anaesthesia

2- Local anaesthesia

General anaesthesia for pain relief: general anaesthesia or GA is the creation of a state of unconsciousness with the absence of pain sensation over the entire body, through the administration of anaesthetic drugs by gas inhalation or by drips. It must be done by specialist paediatric anaesthetists (child-specialist anaesthesiologist) in an accredited hospital. There are strict regulations regarding GA for children under 3 years of age, and therefore, it can only be conducted in some hospitals.

Local anaesthesia: means local application of anaesthetic medicine to the penis and the surrounding area by:

1- Application of anaesthetic gels, creams or sprays - NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

2- Injection of an anaesthetic medicine at the base of the penis under the skin where the nerves are, called “Penile Nerve Block”. If it is correctly done, it blocks temporarily all the nerves that are responsible for perception of pain and numbs the whole of penis for the entire procedure.

There is a wealth of scientific information on the effectiveness of Penile Nerve Block (PNB) as a pain killer method for circumcisions.

It is, however, a challenging technique when it comes to a penis of a 3 month-old. Always ask the practitioner to test the numbness IN YOUR presence before the procedure. 

Gels, creams and sprays are to be used ONLY as supplements to the PNB! Their action is superficial and does not reach the tissues underneath and, therefore, are pointless if applied alone.