Even if you don’t develop a yeast infection, the accumulation of sweat, dirt, deceased skin cells, and lint can cause your bellybutton to smell. Omphaloliths. As deceased skin cells and sebum — the oil secreted by your skin — accumulate in your bellybutton, they can form an omphalolith over time.
Just be careful not to scratch your belly button with your fingernail or whatever you use to wash your body, because you could pierce the skin, leading to bleeding or increased risk of an infection. If you’ve got any remaining gunk in there, feel free to gently wipe it out with a cotton swab, Dr. Khetarpal says.
Dip your finger or a soft washcloth in a solution of salt water (about a teaspoon of table salt in a cup of warm water) and gently massage the inside of your navel. This should loosen stubborn germs that can cause odor. Then rinse with plain water and pat it dry.
Dirt, bacteria, fungus, and germs can get trapped inside your belly button and start to multiply, which can cause an infection. If you develop a belly button infection, you might notice white, yellow, brown, or bloody discharge seeping out of it. That discharge might also have an unpleasant smell.
Signs of infection include: severe swelling with pain and redness. yellow, green, gray, or brown discharge that has an odor. red lines that radiate from the piercing site.
The belly button is the remnant of where the umbilical cord connected a baby to its mother during pregnancy. The button is where the cord joined the body. The umbilical cord has several key blood vessels that provide nutrients and oxygen to a growing fetus.
If you put your finger in your bellybutton, you are stimulating the nerves that trigger your spine to tell urethra and bladder it is time “GO”. While it may not be exciting news, you can now ask your friends to do the same and see them run to the potty and have a nice giggle…all in the name of medical science.
According to a study at the University of Missouri, small, T-shaped belly buttons are the most attractive. Researchers showed pictures of innies, outies, and belly buttons of all shapes and sizes to a group of men and women who rated them on a scale of 1 to 10 from least to most attractive.
As you stick your finger into your belly button, it sends a signal from the deeper fibres that line your inner abdominal cavity to your spinal cord. He added: “Because your spinal cord at that level is also relaying signals from your bladder and urethra, it feels almost the same.
No! The belly button is kind of like a scar. You can‘t reopen your belly button. Depending on how the scar tissue forms will decide whether you have an innie or an outie!
Dr Christopher Hollingsworth of NYC Surgical Associates explained to Lad Bible that often, despite inducing the feeling of needing to pee, touching the belly button actually stimulates the lining of the stomach, so that you think you need the loo, even though you may not.
Omphalophobia is a type of specific phobia. Specific phobias, also called simple phobias, are extreme, persistent fears that focus on a particular thing. In this case, the focus is on the human navel, or belly button. The phobia might involve touching or seeing your own belly button, other people’s, or both.
This is because bacteria break down the sweat and create a waste product that has a strong odor. If the belly button has trapped deceased skin and sweat, it is likely to smell sweaty. A fungal infection is also likely to smell bad, especially if there is pus around the area.
If you don’t clean your bellybutton, a number of problems could occur. These can include: Yeast infection. As a result, you could get a yeast infection in your bellybutton.
Dr. Richardson cautions against touching your belly button with your germy fingers, as it can lead to serious infections.
Periumbilical pain is a type of abdominal pain that is localized in the region around or behind your belly button. This part of your abdomen is referred to as the umbilical region. It contains parts of your stomach, small and large intestine, and your pancreas.
“The internal lining of the abdominal cavity at your umbilicus (belly button) is called your parietal peritoneum. This structure is exquisitely sensitive and its sensory nerve fibers relay input back to the spinal cord at the same level as the nerves that relay sensation from your bladder and urethra.”
What causes belly button pain that feels like a sharp, pulling pain? If you feel a sharp pain near your belly button that gets worse when you stretch or cough, you might have a hernia. A bulge near the belly button is the most common symptom. You may also experience pain in the area near your groin.
Mild belly button pain is no cause for concern, but women who are experiencing any significant and ongoing discomfort and pain should report it to a doctor. An umbilical hernia during pregnancy is another possible reason for belly button pain in pregnancy.
Symptoms of miscarriage. When present, common signs of a miscarriage, or that a person is about to miscarry, include: Abdominal cramps. Abdominal pain.
David Nilsen is the former editor of Fourth & Sycamore. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. You can find more of his writing on his website at davidnilsenwriter.com and follow him on Twitter as @NilsenDavid.