We noticed today that our 18-month old son's belly button was partly (1/3 to half in area) red and inflamed looking. It may be because he seems to be increasingly interested in his own belly button and has been touching it. We also weren't paying attention to it or cleaning it while bathing him. So questions to you all are 1) Do you clean your child's belly botton, and if so how and how often? 2) do you know what we can do with the red belly botton? Sanitize it in case it's infected? What would be best to use to sanitize it? Bring him in? 3) How can we keep him from touching it too much? Put a band aid on it? But bandaid may be more interesting than the belly button!
Your advice would be appreciated! Thank you,
AHHHHH I have a belly button hang up and almost got nauseous reading the posts!! I actually had to stop.... my poor kids.
I'd put some Neosporin on it and keep him in a onesie undershirt to minimize his contact w/ it.
Yes, and all other areas that might need a little extra attention. If it's irritated, clean with soap and water, a dab of disinfectant and some neosporin. I haven't read all the other responses, but if you don't know what the other areas are, I'm sure the mama's will enlighten you.
PS...I still clean my belly button while bathing or showering. That stuff that gathers in there stinks.
Blessings....
my son has an outtie, so it automatically gets cleaned when i soap up his belly. on a side note my son is 21 mnths old and loves to play with his belly button too! but since his is an outtie he tries to pull it off lol!
what a riot! I cannot imagine NOT cleaning it!
Neosporin has already been recommended. If this doesn't work, try some anti-fungal cream....or yogurt (gross, but it works for yeast infections).
And as a side story: my Dad grew up being told by his Mom that if he didn't keep his belly button clean, then he'd suffocate! (woo-hoo, way to go Gma! Scare your child!) A perfect "bad" story for Mother's Day.....
my daughter gets her washed every time she is in the bath as i wash her body. i think if neosporn doesnt clear it up by monday maybe take him in and have a dr look at it he could have scratched it and continue to irritate it. just clean it in the morning and night and put neosporn on it a few times a day. maybe even bandage it at night so he doesnt fuss with it.
Lol. I was going to ask this question a few months ago, then didn't. :P
I do wash my 12 month olds... usually, I just get it with the washcloth when I'm washing her in her bath... I just pull the skin around it a little to make it flatten out a bit and wipe it with a washcloth. Every once in a while, if it looks like it's pretty dirty, I will clean it with some of her leftover ear care solution. (I got her ears pierced, and got a big bottle of the solution. Her ears are healed, but I still had the stuff left. I figure if it's good enough to sanitize her earrings, why not use it on her belly button? lol) on a Q-tip and pay a little closer attention. I wouldn't put a band-aid on it... I would get some 18 month onesies to put on him so he can't pull them up and get at it.
It is funny that you ask because I just noticed my 5mo old's belly button looking a little dirty tonight and I cleaned it out just a few minutes ago. I just layed him flat on his back and gently squeezed the sides of it to make it pop out and then used a wipe to scrub at the dried on gunk. I think from now on I will make sure and wash it with a washcloth during bath time and then make sure and dry it really good to make sure any leftover soap doesn't dry in the creases.
For your son, I would use a warm washcloth to gently wash it, maybe even use the corner of it to try to get into it a little. Then dry it good and put him in a onesie so he can't dig at it. See how it looks in the morning. If it is still red, you could try some neosporin.
