Is it OK to clean out your belly button?

The takeaway

Although most people don't spend much time thinking about their bellybuttons, it's not a bad idea to clean yours every week or so. Cleaning your bellybutton can help you avoid potential infections, smells, and other results of poor hygiene.

Should I take out the stuff in my belly button?

Luckily, all that unwanted stuff inside the navel can be safely removed through regular cleanings. To minimize bacteria and extract anything else that may become trapped in there, experts recommend a weekly hygiene routine.

Do people clean out their belly button?

"Your belly button should be cleaned just like the rest of the skin." Whether you're the owner of an outie or innie, your belly button is home to "tiny creases, where dead skin, dirt, and bacteria can accumulate," explains Dr.

What happens if you clean your belly button too much?

With regular cleaning, the level of bacteria inhabiting your belly button should be low enough that there won't be an odor. Left unchecked, however, the bacteria could multiply and become dense enough to result in an itchy belly button with a bad smell.

What is the black stuff in my belly button?

A navel stone forms when sebum and keratin from dead skin cells collect in your belly button. The material accumulates and hardens into a tight mass. When it's exposed to oxygen in the air, it turns black through a process called oxidation.

What's Inside Your Belly Button?

Why shouldn't you play with your navel?

There are many risks associated with playing with your navel, but one of the most important is that you can push on your bellybutton and cause an infection. This happens when you introduce bacteria into your body through a wound in the area. To avoid this, make sure to always keep your hands clean and dry!

How do you clean a deep belly button?

Deep-clean an innie with a washcloth or cotton swab.

Swab out the inside of your belly button gently with soap and water, and make sure to rinse it well afterward. Don't scrub hard—you could irritate the delicate skin in and around your belly button.

What happens if I don't clean my 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 300k times. "If not washed out on a regular basis, this material can accumulate and harden into an omphalolith – a belly button stone," he adds.

Why do belly buttons get crusty?

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.

Why is my belly button smelly and wet?

Discharge and smells can be a result of several different factors, though slight navel odors are typically normal. If you have a combination of foul smell and discharge, it could be a sign of: A fungal infection or yeast infection of the belly button. A bacterial infection of the belly button.

Is it normal to have a dirty belly button?

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.

What is the stuff in your belly button?

Speaking of hygiene, the tiny clods of fluff you find stored away in your belly button are particularly unhygienic. A chemical analysis of the stuff, performed by chemist Georg Steinhauser, revealed that it's more than just cotton from your clothing — it's also flecks of dead skin, fat, sweat and dust.

Can you clean your belly button with a QTIP?

How to Clean Your Innie Belly Button. Innie belly buttons need the extra help of a Q-tip to get into all the nook and crannies of the skin. Before going in, swab the Q-tip with soap and water or rubbing alcohol. Gently swab the inside of your belly button.

Can I remove my own navel stone?

Anyone who may have a navel stone should consult a doctor. If they believe that the stone will come out easily with simple softening, they will give the person guidance about doing this safely or remove it themselves. For anyone with symptoms of a navel abscess, it is important to see a doctor.

How do you treat belly button discharge?

Share on Pinterest Antibiotic and antifungal ointments or creams may be used to treat belly button discharge. Bacterial infections are usually treated with antibiotic ointments or creams. Fungal or yeast infections are also typically treated with antifungal powders or creams.

Why does the inside of my belly button smell?

Even if you don't develop a yeast infection, the accumulation of sweat, dirt, dead skin cells, and lint can cause your bellybutton to smell. Omphaloliths. As dead skin cells and sebum — the oil secreted by your skin — accumulate in your bellybutton, they can form an omphalolith over time.

Why is there white stuff in my belly button?

Yeast infection

Yeast can also take up residence in your belly button, especially if you don't keep it clean and dry. Candidiasis in your belly button causes a red, itchy rash on your belly button and may also cause a thick, white discharge. People with diabetes are at a higher risk for all types of infections.

What organ is behind the belly button?

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.

Why does cleaning your belly button feel weird?

Dr Christopher Hollingsworth of NYC Surgical Associates explained to Lad Bible that touching the belly button actually stimulates the lining of the stomach, causing us to feel like we need to dash to the loo – even when we actually don't.

What happens if you put your finger in your belly button?

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”.

What is the belly button connected to internally?

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.

Do belly buttons smell?

Because of its shape and tiny skin folds, belly buttons can collect dirt, sweat, and bacteria. 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.

What is belly button cheese?

Most innies are full of dozens of kinds of bacteria, fungi, and lint — especially if they're on a hairy belly. If a navel gets infected, it might also have a foul-smelling, cheese-like liquid inside. Speaking of cheese, a biologist teamed up with an artist in 2013 to create cheese using belly button bacteria.

What lives in your belly button?

If you're an innie and not an outie, your belly button is home to at least 60 to 100 or more species of bacteria, fungi and yeasts, according to new research. If you're an innie and not an outie, your belly button is home to at least 60 to 100 or more species of bacteria, fungi and yeasts, according to new research.

Can you poke through your belly button?

Umbilical Hernia

Digestive tubing (intestine) can poke through to the bellybutton before the hole can close. Most cases get better by age 5. Anything that raises abdominal pressure, like weightlifting, heavy coughing, or childbirth, could cause it in adults.