Step-by-Step Guide on How to Clean Your Belly Button

Understand your belly button first and then learn how to clean your belly button in detail with this guide.

The navel or the belly button is a hollow area or a protruded growth in the center of the belly where the umbilical cord was attached to us when we were developing in the womb. The human belly button is home to thousands of bacteria.

The cleaning of the belly button gets overlooked most of the time as the focus is always shifted towards more prominent body parts. Do you know how to keep your belly button clean? You’ll know all about it in this article.

Forgetting about the first scar you ever got is pretty easy. The belly button, or navel as it is called, was your first scar ever when the umbilical cord was cut. After birth, it does not have any specific functionality.

2 Reasons To Keep Your Navel Clean

There are two major reasons for keeping your belly button clean.

1. Effects On Relationship

The belly button is the center of attention during a navel kiss. You would not want your partner to choke on the smell of the belly button or dislike it for the very first time when they do it.

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• Navel Kiss – All You Need To Know About It
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That could even put them off from kissing your navel in the future as you very well know that “the first impression is the last impression”.

2. Effects On Health

That was one reason. The other reason is directly related to your health.

Not keeping your belly button clean can potentially lead to infections, the formation of navel stones, and a bad smell due to the presence of dirt and bacteria.

Why Does My Belly Button Smell?

The belly button can give off a bad smell due to many reasons.

Due to being commonly ignored on hygienic grounds, it can become a good place for all the bacteria and viruses to breed and multiply. Sweat and dirt can also accumulate if not washed and taken care of regularly.

Most of the bacteria in our belly buttons are harmless. But some of them could be dangerous and be a cause of some severe infections.

The belly button can simply be washed with lukewarm water and soap. Nothing fancy is required.

If you are experiencing foul smells, this could be due to many reasons that could include:

1. Infections due to fungus
2. Bacterial infections due to accumulation of bacteria
3. Dirt and sweat accumulation
4. An infected wound or itch due to excessive scratching
5. Diabetes can also cause a bad smell
6. Bellybutton piercing
7. Being overweight

Let’s go through the process of how to keep and nice and clean and avoid having it give off any foul smell due to the presence and accumulation of such bacteria.

How To Clean Your Belly Button

There is a high chance that your belly button is housing a lot of stuff and organisms right now. That is because washing and taking care of the belly button has never been a priority of the majority of people.

It is not commonly understood that the belly button should be cleaned just as all other parts of the body. It could become problematic otherwise as the navel can grow a large number of infections, swelling, and a foul smell. In an instance where the belly button has not been thoroughly cleaned for a long time, rare cysts can develop which can lead to ulcers, inflammations, and even belly button stones.

These kinds of issues are very much related to the innie-type belly buttons. For the outie type belly buttons, washing it is easy and it is already outstretched and does not pose as much of a threat as an innie does.

So what would you have to do to prevent such a situation from happening? A simple answer, isn’t it?

Keep your belly button clean. And here’s how to do it.

How To Clean an Innie Belly Button

There are many ways you can clean your belly button. We’ll tell you about the two most common ones.

1.    Using Rubbing Alcohol

You can go for cleaning an innie before or after the shower, or whenever you’d be comfortable doing it. The best time would be to do it before the shower so that you can clean off the residual stuff away with water and soap.

1. Before you take a shower, have a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol ready. Before you wet your belly button with water, gently rub the swab on the inside of your belly button. Clean out the dirt and lint. Change the swab if it gets dirty and then use a new one to clean the navel.
2. Once your belly button is clean, wash it with warm water to get all the alcohol out of your navel. After washing it, dry it with a paper towel to make sure that there is no moisture left to inhibit the growth of bacteria.

2.    Using Soap and Salt Water

If you do not have rubbing alcohol available at your home, you can use simple liquid soap and water to wash your navel.

1. Just apply a bit of soap on a piece of wet cloth. Rub your belly button gently with that soapy cloth and try cleaning any dirt and lint very lightly without hurting the soft skin around.
2. Wash out the soap from your navel. Dip a piece of cloth in a solution of salt water and rub it on your belly button again. Saltwater has germicidal properties and can help kill any germs. Dry your navel with a paper towel afterward to dry it completely.

How To Clean An Outtie Belly Button

Washing the outtie is much easier. Just follow these steps:

1. Lather a washcloth with soap or body shampoo. Rinse your navel and rub the washcloth gently but thoroughly onto your navel. Wash it with lukewarm water.
2. After you are done washing it, dry it with your towel or a tissue to prevent any moisture.

How To Clean A Belly Button Piercing

There is a high chance of navel infections if it has been pierced and hasn’t been cleaned for a long time. If you had your belly button pierced recently, follow the instructions that your piercing expert gave you in this regard.

However, if your belly button piercing has healed properly, you can go through the following steps to keep it cleaned.

1. Wash your belly button with soap and washcloth (if you have an outtie) or cotton swabs dipped in rubbing alcohol (if you have an innie). Remember to clean around the jewelry as well.
2. Once the soap has been washed off, wet the washcloth in the saltwater solution and gently clean your navel with it again. Take care to not be harsh and damage the skin in any way.
3. Dry it after you are done washing. Use a dry cotton cloth or a paper towel to do it.

Do Not Use Any Creams or Lotions

You should never use any lotions or creams on your belly button after washing it. Lotions would trap the moisture inside and would provide an ideal place for the bacteria to grow. Just try to keep your navel as dry as possible.

Conclusion

If you still feel any pain in your belly button or it is giving off a bad odor even after a thorough washing, you should visit your doctor for him to have a look.

Cleaning the navel regularly is not very common. But you still pay some attention to it every time you take a bath to avoid any complications in the future.

Keeping it clean can help you avoid embarrassment in your relationship as well.