Belly button problem

June 25, 2007 10:15 AM

Possibly disgusting medical question regarding the belly button...

I can't find any information on the intarwebs about this, so here goes...

I have a reoccurring problem with my belly button. Every couple of days my belly button hurts then it discharges what looks like ear wax.

Any ideas?

posted by Hugh2d2 to health (10 comments total)

It's pretty easy to get infections there: see a doctor, they'll probably give you some antibiotics.
posted by muteh at 10:29 AM on June 25, 2007

Sounds like a fungus.
posted by ageispolis at 10:32 AM on June 25, 2007

Sounds like some sort of infection. It's really important to try & keep your bellybutton dry, which can be hard if you're sweating a lot or you forget to dry it after a shower. When it stays moist and gets irritated, it can get infected and be difficult to cure unless you start keeping it dry.

I do think you should go to the doctor, but my home remedy for belly button irritation is to swab out my bellybutton using a dry cotton swab, then a cotton swab with some rubbing alcohol or peroxide on it, another dry cotton swab, and finally a cotton swab with some neosporin. I do this several times a day until it feels better, which is usually within 48 hours. This will not work for a fungal infection which would need an anti-fungal ointment, or an infection serious enough to warrant oral antibiotics.

Good luck & don't stick your fingers in there.
posted by tastybrains at 10:37 AM on June 25, 2007

Good luck & don't stick your fingers in there.


I think that can be the answer to a lot of things in life.
posted by govtdrone at 11:00 AM on June 25, 2007 [9 favorites]

I get this sometimes, although usually what happens is that my belly button is really itchy and gets red and cracked. I had my mom check it out - she's a nurse - and she thought it was a fungal infection. I bought some antifungal cream from the drugstore and dab it in there for a few days when it's problematic and it works quite well.

I also wash it gently in the shower with something non-irritating like Cetaphil and then make sure I dry it well when I get out of the shower. That helps a great deal as well.
posted by sutel at 11:06 AM on June 25, 2007

yeah, this same questions has actually posted before. It is most likely an infection. Some antibiotics should clear it up fast. It is not herniated at all is it? Do you ever have blood (dark black stool) in your stool? That might indicate something else like a remnant omphalocele.
posted by cdcello at 11:06 AM on June 25, 2007

I don't know what it is, but I find that rinsing it with hydrogen peroxide can help. Sometimes I rinse and then swab it out with an H₂O₂-soaked q-tip. My method tends to clear it up in a day or two.
posted by frecklefaerie at 11:08 AM on June 25, 2007

could be a zit. you can get them anywhere.

or a fungal infection. i had something similar while traveling in the third world. i found some athelete's foot cream and swabbed it on, and it went away in about a week.
posted by thinkingwoman at 11:17 AM on June 25, 2007

Mine gets dermatitis, e.g. inflammation due to allergic reaction to my metal pants button. It doesn't usually get as bad as yours but symptoms are similar. I take antihistamines for other allergies and they work on the belly button too, and high fronted undies protect it from the mean metal button the rest of the time. Yours could also be an infection as already mentioned, either fungal or bacterial.

All of these things are treatable but all need different treatments. Rather than waste time and money smearing on the wrong thing you should see a doctor and get it properly diagnosed. It's not urgent, but it could get worse over time and it's kind of nasty so you might as well get it sorted.
posted by shelleycat at 11:17 PM on June 25, 2007

if it's getting damp, maybe you can Qtip it with a dab of alcohol, then blowdry it a few times a day, and sprinkle cornstarch in there to keep it dry?
posted by twistofrhyme at 4:12 PM on June 28, 2007