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.
Rarely, people can develop stone-like masses inside the belly button. Known as omphaliths or umboliths, these growths can fill the entire navel and lead to infection, inflammation, and ulcerated skin. For these reasons, it's important to keep your belly button as clean as possible.
"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."
Dr. Richardson cautions against touching your belly button with your germy fingers, as it can lead to serious infections.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sometimes a stinky belly button can be a symptom of a condition that needs medical attention, such as an infection or cyst. Look for other symptoms that come along with these conditions, including: white, yellow, or green discharge. swelling and redness or discoloration.
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 opening normally closes just after birth. If the muscles don't join together completely in the midline of the abdominal wall, an umbilical hernia may appear at birth or later in life. In adults, too much abdominal pressure contributes to umbilical hernias.
The area behind your belly button contains parts of your stomach, small and large intestine, and pancreas.
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.
"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."
Note: You can't actually breathe into your back or belly. You can only breathe into your lungs. This exercise involves using the expansion of your lungs within the body to help stimulate sensation and movement in the lower back.
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.
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.
Fresh belly piercings tend to close quickly. If you've had one for years, it can close in a few weeks, but for some people it can take longer. Make sure you clean the area regularly until it's fully healed. If you want to keep your piercing for the long term, put jewelry in it all the time.
Belly buttons are naturally different and can be round, wide, deep, or many other variations. If you don't like the way yours looks, there are surgical procedures that can help. However, it's completely normal to have variation in what your naval looks like.
Booth says that simply showering will remove some germs, lint, and whatnot, but if you have an “innie,” you should also dig in once a week with a cotton swab that has soap and water or rubbing alcohol on it.
If discharge and crust stick around after you wash your belly button, you should see your doctor. Your doctor may prescribe a prescription or over-the-counter antibacterial or anti-fungal cream or ointment. It depends on the type of infection.