Belly Button Stink?

[Twinklefae]

So Ds's bell button just fell off, but there is still a little bit of... goo?... left in there, and it REEKS! Anyone else have this? How long does it last? Should I worry about it?

[PPK]

I would get a doctor to check it out. The Dr. Sears book says that if it smells really offensive, it could be there is an infection. My ds's never had an odor, so I can't say..but it doesn't sound healthy, I'd definatley get it checked.

[Cujobunny]

a little stink is normal but if it's foul and theres pus and the area around it is red, could be an infection. how is the baby acting? any unusual fussiness at all?

[mama2walden&luna]

I agree, a bad smell is a sign of a possible problem. Both of my dd's had a slight odor, but not a foul smell. I would get it checked out.

[4daughters]

My baby's belly button smelled a little before it fell off, but my midwife told me to put some alchohol on it a couple times a day and it was fine.

[QueenOfThePride]

Some amount of bad smell is normal-the cord does rot off after all. A couple of times, I used a Q-tip dipped in witch hazel to wipe it out, then a dry Q-tip to dry out the witch hazel. It helped reduce the odor and clean out the goo.

[Jster]

odor is, from what I understand, normal (at least two of my kids had that, can't remember if all of them did). Redness is a problem. I put some breastmilk on ds's when it had fallen off but not dried up completely. I also swabbed inside w/hydrogen peroxide a couple of times a day until all the goopy parts were gone. Cleared up fine after that! HTH!

[kristinc]

i second the breastmilk idea. it has so many immune boosters in in that can really help your baby out. if it isn't red or he doesn't have a fever, i would try that for several days.

[ani'smommy]

DS's cord and belly button were very goopy and very stinky. His bellybutton also bled a tiny bit for a week or so after the cord fell off. DD's never stunk and never bled.

I think as long as it doesn't look red and infected it's pretty normal. I talked to my doctor about it and yeah, he said, it is flesh rotting and becoming gangrenous, so it's bound to be pretty nasty for a bit.

[Twinklefae]

Thanks for all the responses. All the goo is gone now, and the smell is much better. Not red at all, so I guess no infection or anything! It's nice to not deal with that smell anymore!

[mamamoo]

Originally Posted by Jster

odor is, from what I understand, normal (at least two of my kids had that, can't remember if all of them did). Redness is a problem. I put some breastmilk on ds's when it had fallen off but not dried up completely. I also swabbed inside w/hydrogen peroxide a couple of times a day until all the goopy parts were gone. Cleared up fine after that! HTH!

:

It is rotting flesh after all. LOL