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.
The easiest way to prevent bacteria and dirt from collecting in your belly button is to clean it every day. Here's how: Put a little bit of antibacterial soap on a washcloth when you're in the shower. Using your index finger underneath the washcloth, gently wash the inside of your belly button.
When your belly button smells, it is usually because of a hygiene need or infection. The belly button contains several tiny skin folds that can trap sweat, dirt, dead skin cells, and bacteria. Possible infections include candidiasis, bacterial infections, or an infected urachal cyst.
Rest assured, a smelly belly button doesn't necessarily mean there's a problem. Just like any other parts of your skin, dead skin cells in and around your belly button slough off and flake off the surface, says Shuai Xu, MD, an assistant professor of dermatology at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine.
Most bellybuttons have crevices that can collect dirt and breed bacteria. Aim to clean yours about once a week.
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.
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.
The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus, commonly known as the belly button or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord.
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.
Bye, Bye, Cord!
The brand-new baby doesn't need an umbilical cord anymore. The doctor cuts the umbilical cord and a tiny stump is left. When this stump falls off after a few weeks, the baby is left with his or her very own baby belly button.
With this in mind, there isn't a certain belly button type that can or can't have a piercing. As long as you have skin above your belly button (and we're pretty sure you do), an experienced piercer should be able to pierce the belly button.
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.
Can your belly button unravel? No. The belly button is a remnant of the umbilical cord.
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.
The treatment for navel stones is to take them out. Your primary care doctor should be able to remove most navel stones, or they can refer you to a dermatologist who has more experience with them. Usually your doctor uses tweezers or forceps to pull out a stone.
The majority of people have “innies,” the very scientific term for belly buttons that dip inward. Protruding “outies” can be found on approximately 10 percent of the population. They're about as common as left-handedness.
No. Some people claim you can change an outie to an innie – by taping a quarter over it, for example – but it's just not true.
Most of us have innie belly buttons, with only about 10 percent outies. A few of us may have something in between, or even a little of both! Here are some more fun facts about our belly buttons.
Any piercing has the potential to be rejected. Rejection depends on the person's immune system and how well the piercing heals. But, the body tends to reject some types of piercings more often than others. Surface piercings are the most common types of piercing to be rejected by the body.
However, it's important to note that not everyone can get a belly button piercing. Because they are very anatomy dependent, some piercers may deny you service or suggest a different type of belly button piercing (like a floating navel piercing) or location over the traditional style and placement.
Is it safe to keep a belly button piercing when pregnant? If you've recently learned of a pregnancy, your first thought might be to remove your belly button piercing. But you don't need to react so quickly. The short answer is yes, it is safe to keep a fully healed belly button piercing while pregnant.
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.
When the umbilical cord is not cut, it naturally seals off after about an hour after birth. The umbilical cord and attached placenta will fully detach from the baby anywhere from two to 10 days after the birth. Dr.
Richardson cautions against touching your belly button with your germy fingers, as it can lead to serious infections.