I just noticed my 9 mo old's belly button has some black color inside. Is this something that needs to be cleaned out? I tried to gently clean it with a q-tip, but it was pretty stuck in there. Does this indicate infection? He seems to be itching his belly as well.
Hi Melissa,
No worries, it is just a little dirt. Put a little rubbing alcohol on the q-tip before you clean out her belly butotn, it should get the dirt out. That happened to my son too.
L.
It could be dried blood that has really settled in. Your gently rubbing it may be irritating the area so it is making your baby scratch at it.. Have you poured or dropped some hydrogen peroxide in there and let it bubble up?
If there is no puss or leakage or odor it will probably come clean eventually. Be sure to mention it to the pedi at the next exam, just so they can note it.
You might want to have the pediatrician check it out. My mother-in-laws belly botton was black inside. She did not know it because she could not see it. But one of her grandchildren happen to be playing with her belly button and said "Euww Grandma, why is your belly button black", turns out she had an umblicial hernia that had to be surgicaly repaired. Good Luck.
I would get it checked by the doctor. When my son was close to that age, he got a strep infection in his belly button. I had never heard of that before, but it can happen. They gave me a prescription for a topical antibiotic and that took care of it.
Do you think it's a mole or is it obvious 'gunk'? If it's obvious gunk, have you tried mineral oil or baby oil? Maybe put some in there & let it 'sit' for a minute then try to get it out w/a q-tip. Have you tried tweezers? They make blunt tip tweezers now which may work for you. What about when you bathe him, taking some extra soap (direct from the bottle, not sudsy soap that's been watered down) then pour water on it at the same time you're trying to dig it out? Hope these suggestions help. Good luck!
Sounds like not all his belly button fell off. Try using a tad of rubbing alcohol and see if that helps for 2-3 days if not I would see a doc.
You can dab some baby oil or neosporin on it and then clean it with a Q-tip. If you think it's on the infected side, I would lean towards the neosporin. You'll be surprised what comes out. Then you could clean it really well with some alcohol after that.
a q-tip dipped in baby oil will do the trick! :)
