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cord stump odor  

post #1 of 10
6/10/08 at 10:53am
Thread Starter 
Charlotte is not quite 5 days old and her cord stump is a little stinky. They cut it very close to her belly and it seemed to retract a little so its kinda tucked in. Theres also some dried blood around it that I need to clean but should I use alcohol or just water? We're going to the pedi tomorrow but it doesnt look infected to me...
post #2 of 10
6/10/08 at 10:59am
Declan's got stinky around 5 days, too. It fell off the next day. To help the stink I just used a bit of witchazel on a q-tip once or twice over a couple of days. But a dry q-tip would probably help, too...or alcohol. Our midwife told us no need to use anything at all and she said not to worry about the stink - if there is a red line above the navel, it's a sign of infection, but otherwise the process is for it to basically rot off, so it's gonna get a bit smelly. But the witchazel helped freshen it a little, at least for a while.
post #3 of 10
6/10/08 at 12:12pm
As my midwife said...it's a rotting piece of flesh, so it is going to stink.

Sam's fell off within a day of it getting super stinky. I didn't use anything on it, except give him baths.

Amy
post #4 of 10
6/10/08 at 2:06pm
I didn't do anything either, just let it go. If there was any dried discharge type stuff around the belly button, I just used a warm washcloth or qtip.
post #5 of 10
6/10/08 at 2:22pm
Delaney's never smelled. But broke off on day 8 while at the Ped's ofice. Which left blood all over my shirt and we had my OB appointment right after. Lovely.
post #6 of 10
6/10/08 at 3:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluepetals View Post
Declan's got stinky around 5 days, too. It fell off the next day. To help the stink I just used a bit of witchazel on a q-tip once or twice over a couple of days. But a dry q-tip would probably help, too...or alcohol. Our midwife told us no need to use anything at all and she said not to worry about the stink - if there is a red line above the navel, it's a sign of infection, but otherwise the process is for it to basically rot off, so it's gonna get a bit smelly. But the witchazel helped freshen it a little, at least for a while.
....Hudson is 3 weeks and there is a bit of redness around his navel. I didn't think this was infection but after reading your post I wonder if it is. It doesn't smell at all but it has been bleeding just a bit every once in awhile.
I think I'll be calling the MW today.
post #7 of 10
6/10/08 at 4:50pm
Sophie's fell off at the end of day 3!! I used goldenseal powder on it 2x a day, which dries it out and is an antimicrobial.
post #8 of 10
6/10/08 at 5:02pm
Ari's fell of at day 4 with no goldenseal or anything... but it did have a bit of a stink, they told me not to put alcohol on it... as long as it isn't infected, it's no big deal, it will probably fall of tomorrow
post #9 of 10
6/10/08 at 6:08pm
Had this with dd1 and dd2 (dd2's smelled for a while even after the stump fell off ... I think it came off too soon). IMO, the best thing is to just expose it to air. Don't keep it covered under clothes / diaper.
post #10 of 10
6/10/08 at 8:58pm
My oldest son's cord gt infected, it stank, it was nasty for weeks! My midwife this time told me to get golden seal powder. It might be alittle hard to find but you should be able to find it at any health food store. If they don't have it in bulk you could always get pills and break them open, though that would cost more money. You just put a little bit of powder on the cord and Voila! No stink and no more cord, after a day or two anyway.
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