Navel (Belly Button)

What is the navel?

Your navel, also known as your belly button, is a small, pushed-in scar area (indention) in the front of your abdomen (belly). It was the attachment point for the umbilical cord you had at birth. After someone cuts your umbilical cord, the opening inside the cord heals and seals itself shut. Eventually, the stump of the cord shrivels and falls off, leaving behind the indention that is your navel.

What does the navel do?

After your umbilical cord stump heals closed and falls off, your navel doesn’t do much of anything for the rest of your life. While it doesn’t do anything itself, it’s still important for aesthetic (beauty and appearance) reasons. Research shows that how you feel about your belly button can make a big difference in how comfortable you are with your appearance.

There are a few other ways your navel can play a role in your life:

• It’s a useful landmark: The navel marks the center of your abdomen. Healthcare experts use it as a reference point during physical exams.
• It can show symptoms: Conditions that affect your abdomen often change how your navel looks. Healthcare providers can use the changes to determine (or at least narrow down) what’s happening and ways they could treat it.
• It can be an access point: Healthcare providers can put intravenous (IV) lines into a newborn’s umbilical cord veins. Those veins pass through your navel and into your body. Techniques like single-port surgery can use your navel as an access point to limit visible scarring.
• How it looks: Your navel is an important part of your abdomen’s appearance. If you like how it looks, you’re more likely to feel better about your overall appearance. And some people wear navel piercings.

Where is the navel located?

Your navel is the center of your abdomen. Everything above your navel is your upper abdomen, and everything below it is your lower abdomen. Then, imagine adding a vertical line to divide your abdomen equally into left and right sides. That creates four sections called quadrants. Your navel is the point where all four quadrants meet.

Using your navel as a reference point is useful when healthcare providers diagnose and treat conditions. Many conditions affect only specific quadrants of your abdomen. For example, appendicitis usually affects your lower right abdominal quadrant.

What does the navel look like?

The navel looks like an indention — a pushed-in area — with a surrounding circular rim. But the exact appearance of your navel can vary greatly.

Informally, the basic types are the “innie” or “outie.” Those names describe the way the skin inside your navel folds and how it appears from the outside. An innie typically looks like a hollow indention, while an outie looks more like a ring-like opening with a button-like bit of skin visible inside it.

Experts use a set of criteria called the SHAPE classification to describe the navel in detail. These criteria are especially useful in cases where surgery to repair or reconstruct the navel is necessary. The SHAPE criteria include:

• Shape: Does the navel have a vertical oval, horizontal oval, round or T-shape?
• Hood: Does the navel have an overhanging flap of skin? If yes, how much of the opening does it cover?
• Adiposity: If and how does fat under the skin affect the appearance?
• Protrusion: Does the inside skin of the navel stick out at all?
• Position: Is the navel perfectly centered, or is it slightly to one side?
• Ptosis: Does the navel opening droop at all?
• External piercing: Do you have any navel piercings?

What are the common conditions and disorders that affect the navel?

Two common conditions that can affect your navel directly include:

• Belly button yeast infections or similar issues
• Nickel allergy reactions

The way your navel looks can often be a clue about conditions affecting what’s inside your abdomen. You can also sometimes feel abdominal condition symptoms around your navel. Conditions that can cause symptoms or change the way your navel looks include:

• Pregnancy, especially late in the second trimester and throughout the third trimester
• Scar tissue from piercings (similar to ear keloids from ear piercings)
• Hernias, especially umbilical hernias
• Ascites
• Portal hypertension, especially when it causes caput medusae
• Appendicitis, which can cause pain that spreads from your navel toward your lower right abdomen
• Gastrointestinal diseases
• Acute abdomen conditions
• Congenital malformations (birth defects) like gastroschisis
• Metastatic cancer (growths in your navel from this are called Sister Mary Joseph nodules)

Common medical tests for the navel

A healthcare provider will often look at your navel and feel (palpate) your abdomen around it during physical exams. This is normal during routine checkups and when trying to diagnose symptoms or conditions.

Imaging tests are also common if you have conditions that could be affecting your navel. Examples include:

• Computed tomography (CT) scans
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Ultrasound

What are some common treatments for navel conditions?

Treatments for navel-related conditions vary widely depending on the cause. In many cases, treating the underlying condition is enough to stop the effects or symptoms around your navel. Your healthcare provider is the best person to tell you about the treatment options for your specific case.

Why does my belly button smell?

Your belly button can trap all kinds of debris and substances that can make it smell. Some of the most common things that can make your belly button smell include:

• Lint: This comes from tiny fibers off your clothes.
• Hair: Body hair can easily become trapped in your navel.
• Skin oils and sweat: These can build up without proper navel hygiene.
• Dead skin cells: Your skin naturally sheds old, dead cells constantly, some of which get stuck in your navel.
• Belly button stones (omphaloliths): Pronounced “OM-fa-lo-liths,” these are just accumulations of any of the above material. Over time, they can harden into tiny, stone-like clusters or clumps.

If you notice a strange smell from your belly button, it may be a sign that your belly button hygiene needs a little extra attention. Your navel needs regular hygiene just like other parts of your body with creases of skin, like between your fingers and toes or your armpits. Keeping your belly button clean and dry keeps bacteria or other germs from moving in and potentially causing infections.

You should talk to a primary care provider if the smell continues after several days of focusing on hygiene. You also should talk to them if you develop new symptoms like itching, pain, crusting or bleeding/oozing. They can determine if you have an infection or skin condition that might need treatment.

How do I clean my belly button properly?

Cleaning your belly button properly is something you can do during regular bathing. Usually, all it takes is soap, water and your fingertip. Using soap and water, gently use your fingertip to clean around your belly button opening and inside. (Don’t push your finger in farther than is comfortable.) Make sure to thoroughly rinse your belly button and the outer opening to clear any soap or other residue. Make sure to dry your belly button well with a towel to get rid of excess moisture.

Why does my belly button hurt?

Pain inside your belly button may be a sign of skin irritation because you haven’t focused on its hygiene enough. Making sure to clean it gently during regular bathing for several days may help the skin heal. If the pain continues or worsens, or you develop other symptoms, you should talk to a primary care provider.

The area around your belly button can hurt for many reasons, ranging from surface and skin conditions to internal conditions. If there’s an obvious cause, like a minor injury or a new piercing, mild pain or discomfort immediately after is normal. Keeping the area clean and dry until it heals may be all it needs.

You may be able to treat minor navel piercing infections yourself. You should talk to a medical provider if you develop new symptoms. These include oozing or discharge, swelling, or if the area around the piercing is painful or warm to the touch. If you have an infection, it needs timely treatment so it doesn’t get worse or spread.

Can a belly button infection kill you?

Belly button infections can become more serious if they spread and can become deadly if they turn into sepsis. That isn’t common, but treating infections before they spread is essential to keep it from happening. The best way to avoid this entirely is to have good belly button hygiene for yourself or for a child you care for.