Athelete's foot in my BELLY BUTTON?

[TnMsMama]

I dunno how the heck it happened, no one has had their toes in my belly, but at my OB visit he said I had it. (He said a fancy word for it that I don't remember) but told me to get some athlete's foot spray without tinactin and spray it on my belly button.

Now, in my head I know that there's no way that the spray will leak thru my belly button to the baby - however - I'm really not comfy with the whole idea.

Is there a more natural approach? Tea tree oil maybe? That stuff'll cure anything...

My belly button is red, stingy, oozy and (TMI) kinda stinky.

I've recently lost 180 lbs and my skin didn't stretch back - so my belly sort of lops over, between that and the heat (100+) I think it's just... gross. So... any ideas before I spray the OTC medicine?

[shoefairy3]

i use rubbing alcohol when my button gets weepy. Just like care on a umbilical stump. Sometimes it burns a bit, but not for longer than 30 seconds or so.

[MissMorgan]

I use tea tree oil for athletes foot/ringworm/tinea. Also the green husks of black walnuts works miracles on tinea.

[MaerynPearl]

I get that a LOT... I have a naturally deep belly button and having a large amount of weight on top of it doesnt help.

What I do is make sure to wash it out REALLY well during my showers, put on some hydrogen peroxide... then take a few cotton swabs or the like to it to make sure I get it REALLY REALLY dry. Its the humidity plus your body heat that makes it a breeding ground for this!

If you sweat throughout the day (likely, as its been a HOT summer everywhere!) make sure to dry it out a few times through the day too.

[SumnerRain]

I use grapefruit seed extract on my baby's diaper to kill yeast, also gential violet when the baby had thrush... not sure if they are topical, or pregnancy safe, but might be worth looking into. Also a good probiotic may help keep the yeasties in balance.

[CherryBomb]

Originally Posted by MaerynPearl

I get that a LOT... I have a naturally deep belly button and having a large amount of weight on top of it doesnt help.

What I do is make sure to wash it out REALLY well during my showers, put on some hydrogen peroxide... then take a few cotton swabs or the like to it to make sure I get it REALLY REALLY dry. Its the humidity plus your body heat that makes it a breeding ground for this!

Uggh, me too! Thankfully I'm far enough in my pregnancy that my belly button has gotten shallow enough I don't have this issue at the moment, but non pregnant/early pregnancy I do. I basically do what MP does, wash it out during my shower and dry it out with cotton swabs when I get out. IF I start to have trouble I use some hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol, but I'm sure TTO would work well, too.

[laerhk]

Glad I'm not the only one that this happens to! Pregnancy helps, since my very deep belly button gets stretched out just enough to be "open" all the time, rather than squished together. I've done the rubbing alcohol thing, tinactin (which works better, for me), but never thought about tea tree oil. Sounds interesting (and smelley-betterer than tinactin overspray/fumes)!

[litanyagainstfear]

I've had good results using a vinegar wash -- either white or apple cider do the trick.

[luv-my-boys]

see this is the stuff they dont write in those all you need to know pg books...belly button funk I would think anything recommended for fungus would work, personally I would start with TTO and keeping as dry as possible and allow it to air out from any restrictive clothing if need be.

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by luv-my-boys

see this is the stuff they dont write in those all you need to know pg books...belly button funk

well, for me it actually gets better in late pregnancy and is actually more of a non-pregnancy issue as I get it all the time!

Right now my usually inch-or-more deep belly button is less than an inch deep and can air out appropriately.

[Magali]

I've had a red, itchy, stinky belly button before. Using a q-tip after I shower and a couple of times a day helped clear it up.

[karen1968]

It sounds like what you've got is just yeast. Lots of things suggested here will help with that.

When I had DS, I got thrush in/on my breasts - this is another yeast infection. I used diluted Grapefruit Seed Extract (buy drops at a natural food store), and also took them orally. Tea tree oil is OK, as is black walnut ticture. Coconut oil worked great on breasts, but if you are already hot and sweaty, you probably don't want oil on there! Micanozole (anti-fungal often sold as a vaginal anti-yeast cream) or Lotrimin (often sold as a foot or jock-itch anti-yeast cream) are safe for pregnancy and might work best as you can put them where you want them (unlike a spray that might go everywhere).

Your diet and hygiene can also help. Making sure it's really dry, as others have said, helps starve the yeast. Cutting back or eliminating processed foods, sugars and grains will also help, as they are just yeast food. And adding probiotics will increasing your body's resistance to yeast.

I hope you find something that helps and get rid of it soon!