Your belly button marks the location where your umbilical cord was attached to your mother before birth. This cord transports oxygen and nutrients from the womb to your baby, as well as taking away waste materials.
The body responds to this transition by closing up the umbilical cord and creating a belly button. This may cause your navel to appear odd at times, even with regular cleaning.
2. It’s a good place to hide lint
Lint is composed of stray fibers from clothing and towels, along with dead skin cells and body hair. When clothes are put in the dryer, static electricity causes these fibers to stick together – creating lint.
Shilpi Khetarpal, M.D. – an expert spokesperson for the American Academy of Dermatology – suggests that your belly button serves as a magnet for lint. According to dermatologist Shilpi Khetarpal, M.D., this indentation creates the ideal harbor for these tiny fibers throughout the day.
Khetarpal recommends washing your belly button with soap and water to get rid of lint buildup. Be gentle; do not scrub hard or use harsh instruments such as tweezers to clean it; doing so could irritate delicate skin in that area. In the meantime, keep an eye out for any unusual odours coming from within or around your belly button; this could indicate infection or lack of hygiene.
3. It’s a good place to hide dirt
Though it is close to your body, the belly button may not always be given high priority when it comes to health and hygiene considerations. But that doesn’t mean you can disregard it completely when it comes to odors.
One of the best ways to rid your belly button of unpleasant odors is by regularly using soap and water. Although it may sound counterintuitive, it’s actually quite straightforward – just make sure you do it correctly.
For instance, you can use a cotton swab dipped in salt water or soap to gently remove sweat and dead skin cells from the area. After, dry the area with another clean swab or towel. Finally, consider adding daily washing into your routine for even greater effectiveness.
How does that work? Apparently, salt water is beneficial to your skin. And after washing with it, any residual soap or germs can be rinsed away – eliminating the worry about them returning.
4. It’s a good place to hide a piece of jewelry
Body jewelry enthusiasts will appreciate that your belly button makes for a great hiding place for piercings. Salamander Jewelry offers fake piercing jewelry that will make it appear real without anyone knowing there’s actually no piercing there.
If your belly button is smelling foul, it could be due to an infection or cyst in the area. A cyst is a lump of tissue that forms beneath the skin and can be painful. Infected cysts may contain pus that drains out, giving off an unpleasant odour.
To effectively treat a belly button infection, keep the area dry and clean. If your button becomes greasy or dirty, gently wipe it clean with a cotton swab that has been dipped in saltwater or soap water after taking a shower. If an infection does develop, doctors can provide medication to address the issue or extract any cysts.
