Belly buttons are barely a few millimetres deep at a young age. At a young age, belly buttons have an elongated shape. The diameter of the navel varies from fifteen to twenty millimetres. The body weight, pregnancies and abdominal wall hernia can influence the appearance.
As dead skin cells and sebum — the oil secreted by your skin — accumulate in your bellybutton, they can form an omphalolith over time. Also known as a navel stone, they're made of the same materials that form blackheads.
This photo shows what the belly button looks like from inside the abdomen. As you can see, it is not attached to anything in the body. The belly button is where the umbilical cord attaches to the fetus, connecting the developing baby to the placenta.
Richardson cautions against touching your belly button with your germy fingers, as it can lead to serious infections.
Your belly button marks the spot where your umbilical (say: um-BIL-ih-kul) cord was once attached. This cord is a soft, bendable tube that carried nutrients — vitamins and minerals — from your mother to you, back when you were in her belly (womb). A belly button is also called a navel.
So, 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. Because your spinal cord at that level is also relaying signals from your bladder and urethra, it feels almost the same.
Located directly behind the stomach, the pancreas lies deep in the center of the abdomen. Its position corresponds to an area 3-6 inches above the “belly button”, straight back on the back wall of the abdominal cavity.
Most belly buttons are indented so act as a trap for sweat, dead skin, and dirt. Few people wash the belly button with soap so germs can develop. The most common cause for a belly button smell is poor hygiene. All areas of the body need to be washed regularly to stay clean and healthy.
While some people find the absence of a belly button a cosmetic concern, you can take comfort in knowing people like Kurkova that take photos for a living do just fine without a belly button.
Your belly button is an erogenous zone
Even though the belly button is just a scar, the area has many nerve endings, making it ticklish, sensitive, and — if you're like Madonna — a love button that shoots sex tingles up your spine.
Dip your finger or a soft washcloth in a solution of saltwater (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.
Without getting in there and cleaning your belly button on the regular, the lingering gunk — e.g. dirt, sweat, dead skin cells, clothing fabric, and bacteria — can collect and "cause odor or even an infection," says Dr. Goldberg.
A deep hollow belly button will typically appear if there's a shadow underneath the belly button's top fold. This belly button type resembles a slightly open mouth. Some people in this category may have a “funnel” belly button, which is common with excess abdominal fat.
You need to swab your navel with a cotton bud dipped in warm, soapy water or alcohol once a week. Make sure you dry the entire area thoroughly afterwards.
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.
The deeper your belly button is, the more dirt and germs can build up inside it. An unpleasant odor comes from the mix of: bacteria. dirt.
The pancreas is a long, thin organ located behind the stomach, in the upper left side of the abdomen. It produces enzymes to aid in digestion.
Inflammatory causes
Infectious: Infection or inflammation of the organs in the lower abdomen can cause pain. The appendix is a very common cause, as it begins in the belly button and travels into the lower right abdomen. Symptoms can also occur when the urinary tract becomes infected.
Diagnosis for Belly Button Pain
The majority of the time, when you experience pain above your belly button, it could be due to an issue with your gastrointestinal or intestinal tract, such as the stomach, pancreas, gallbladder, liver, or intestines.
It turns out your mother was right when she told you to keep your finger out of your belly button. Apparently, pushing in there actually does do something - it makes you need to pee. Dr. Christopher Hollingsworth of NYC Surgical Associates explained to The Mirror what happens when you push in your belly button.
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.
"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."
You should regularly be giving your belly button a little extra TLC to make sure it stays clean and infection free. “I recommend patients clean their navel daily in the shower with gentle soap and water,” says Dr. Bard.
A navel stone is sometimes called an omphalolith or umbolith. It is a condition where substances like sebum, or skin oil, hair, dead skin cells, and dirt can accumulate and form a hardball. The stone is usually a dark color and firm to the touch. They may resemble a large blackhead in the opening of the navel.