How To Clean Your Belly Button (2023)

FAQs

How To Clean Your Belly Button? ›

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.

Those with deeper navels may need to get a little more aggressive about cleanliness. 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.

The navel stone itself isn't a health problem or a symptom of an underlying condition. It's just an accumulation of dirt and oil in a spot that is hard to clean. But a stone can start to irritate the skin in and around your navel. The irritation might lead to a skin infection inside your navel.

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.

"All flesh holes can build up with sweat, dead skin cells, oils, clothing fabric, bacteria and forbidden cheese," he says in the clip, which has since been viewed over 400k times. "If not washed out on a regular basis, this material can accumulate and harden into an omphalolith – a belly button stone," he adds.

The sebaceous glands release oil in the skin. If one of these glands in or near the belly button gets backed up or clogged with dirt and oil, a cyst may form under the skin. If the cyst is infected and leaking, a thick off-white to yellow discharge will often come from it.

In fact, the average belly button contains about 67 types of bacteria. 1 This buildup can lead to a smell and even infection. Your belly button may smell because of a hygiene need or an infection caused by bacteria or fungus. The belly button is also a commonly forgotten body part when it comes to washing.

If your belly button is “leaking” clear or colored discharge or blood, you may have a bacterial, fungal, or yeast infection. Crusty skin, strong odor, itching, and redness are also signs of infection. If discharge and crust stick around after you wash your belly button, you should see your doctor.

What exactly is belly button lint? According to the Canadian Medical Association Journal, research in 2002 concluded that belly button lint is a combination of body hair, skin cells, and clothing fibers.

If you have a fungal infection the belly button will look red, and the redness may extend to the surrounding skin for a few millimetres. It may be itchy. Bacteria may also infect the belly button, often taking advantage of the damage already done by the fungi. This leads to scabbing and a yellowish discharge.

What does an infected belly button look like? ›

The most common symptom of a belly button yeast infection is a bright red rash in the skin folds of your navel. The rash is typically extremely itchy. It may burn. You may also see scaling, swelling or a white discharge.

If you have an innie, you need to make sure you're really getting in there, but of course, do so safely. So, here are the steps you need to take to clean your innie belly button: Dip a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and gently rub it in your belly button. Replace the swab with a new one and fresh alcohol if necessary.

Misconceptions about belly buttons

Others believe their belly button is somehow connected directly to their uterus or the placenta or even the baby's belly button. This isn't the case. As you can see in the picture below, the belly button normally isn't connected to anything in adults.

Hydrogen peroxide, wetted on a gauze or cotton ball, is perhaps the best choice for cleaning. A little mildly soapy water can also be used. (Rubbing alcohol was recommended in the past, but it tends to cause rashes).

A navel stone develops when sebum and keratin, as well as hair and bacteria, accumulate in the naval. Sebum is secreted by glands within the skin, and it reaches the skin's surface by traveling up the shafts of the hair. Keratin is present in hair.

You'll only get this weird tingly feeling if you really dig deep into your belly button, though. If you just touch the sides, you won't hit the right fibers and get the same sensation. But pushing deeply brings you to the umbilicus, which is extremely sensitive and causes the odd feeling. So, there you have it.

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.

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.