When you're born, the umbilical cord is cut and you have a small piece left called the umbilical stump. One to 2 weeks after birth, this stump falls off and what remains is your belly button. As a result, your belly button is essentially a scar. Whether it's an innie or outie depends on how your skin grows as it heals.
Internally the veins and arteries in the cord close up and form ligaments, which are tough connective tissues. These ligaments divide up the liver into sections and remain attached to the inside of the belly button.
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.
Your belly button should be cleaned just like all the other parts of the body; otherwise, the area can develop gnarly smells and infections, often paired with red, itchy, and scabby skin—especially if you have a navel piercing.
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.
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.
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.
A deep hollow belly button typically occurs when the hood of skin casts a shadow on the inside of the button, giving the visual impression of it being quite deep. This shape is also common in people who have some excess belly fat around the abdomen.
Using warm water and mild soap, use a washcloth to gently clean around and just inside the belly button. Rinse with clean, warm water and dry with a towel to make sure that all water has been removed from the belly button. Showering or bathing regularly can help to prevent skin problems and odor.
Cleaning your belly button
Depending on the sensitivity of your skin, you can use water, a saltwater solution, or hydrogen peroxide to clean your belly button. Dip one side of a cotton swab into a cleansing agent and gently wipe your belly button.
"At the navel, you have the ability to stimulate not only the skin overlying the navel, but also the fibres of the inner lining of your abdomen," he said. "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."
It usually forms when the surface skin is folded in on itself, which is often the case in a belly button. As skin grows, dead skin cells can't be shed like it can elsewhere on the body. It can leak a cheese-like substance and have a foul-smelling odor, but it is typically not dangerous and does not require treatment.
There are many reasons a person can experience bellybutton pain. Some causes can be minor, including indigestion, constipation, and pregnancy. Others may be more serious, such as gallstones, appendicitis, or pancreatitis. Bellybutton pain can range in severity from mild to sharp.
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.
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).
Belly buttons can be removed, but you would be exchanging a belly button for a scar. The procedure would also be very difficult to reverse and recreate a belly button after it has been excised.
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.
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.
What causes belly button pain when the belly button is touched? A hernia can also cause a belly button to be sensitive to touch, but Crohn's disease can cause this symptom as well. Crohn's disease usually comes on slowly, and symptoms include: diarrhea.
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.
Although your belly button lint can fall out naturally, you should clean it like you clean pretty much all other parts of your body. Dr. Khetarpal recommends simply washing the area with water and/or gentle soap when you shower or bathe.
Unfortunately, if you have an outie belly button, you most likely won't be able to get it pierced. Some people believe that outie belly button piercings are the only "true" belly button piercings because they actually involve piercing the inner part of the navel.
In the womb, the umbilical cord delivers the oxygen and nutrients needed to allow your baby to grow. After birth, the cord is clamped and cut, leaving a stump. This eventually falls off, healing to form the umbilicus (belly button). There are ways for you to prevent problems during healing.
Most people who have an "outie" fall into one of two categories: either they were born with a tiny umbilical hernia, which is most likely, or had a small infection at the base of the umbilical cord that went unnoticed. This will cause unusual tissue called granulation tissue to form.
Your belly button discharge could also be a ruptured epidermoid cyst—basically, a bump that's caused by skin cells that don't slough off. These are generally harmless, except they can rupture and get infected in your belly button sometimes. You'll know it—it will be red, tender, and may have discharge.