Why You Shouldn’t Play with Your Belly Button

We have our own quirks, and one of them is doing weird things to our bodies when we’re alone. It could be cleaning out your ears, staring at your pores, or even playing with your belly button. The last one gives a strange feeling, though… 

Did you know that out of weird things we do to our bodies when we’re alone, playing with your belly button isn’t a good thing? Read on to know the reasons: 

The Sensation When You Touch Your Belly Button

Touching your belly button stimulates the stomach’s lining that makes you think you want to go to the bathroom, even though you don’t want to. When you stick a finger into your belly button, it sends a signal from the deeper fibers that line the inner abdominal cavity to the spinal cord. 

Additionally, the spinal cord also sends signals from the bladder and urethra that makes you feel discomfort. 

And this is the reason you shouldn’t play with your belly button. 

Belly Button Lint

From time to time, you need to do a bit of extra cleaning around the belly button. The lint comes from the clothes we wear because some of the fibers break or come loose over time. Static electricity causes these loose fibers to stick to each other, as well as to other objects they’re close to. 

Why does this happen? Aside from the obvious that the belly button is just a convenient area of the body to collect lint, there’s actually more than that. 

According to George Steinhauser, an Austrian chemist, it’s because of a certain type of body hair in the belly button that traps pieces of lint and push them towards the belly button. 

The hairs have tine scales that act like hooks that latch onto shirt fibers and pieces of line. Furthermore, they tend to grow in circular patterns around the belly button, which leads to the collection of the lint in the belly button. 

Steinhauser also did a test by shaving his belly and learned that it led to a lint-free belly button. Therefore, it belly button lint bothers you, perhaps you can consider shaving your belly button area. 

How To Clean Your Belly Button

Playing with your belly button is one thing; cleaning it is another. Oftentimes, this area of the body is often ignored, and you might just give it a passing scrub in the shower. However, it deserves more thorough cleaning than that. 

At some point, your belly button will smell, and that’s when you need to clean it. 

So, how do you clean it? It’s easy! First, warmer water is best because it works better as a disinfectant. Second, use mild soap and a washcloth and gently clean around just inside the belly button. Rinse and then repeat. Dry it using the corner of your towel or a cotton swab and make sure you get all the water out. Otherwise, the excess moisture can support bacteria growth. 

But what happens when your belly button really smells? One of the most important things will be to bathe regularly. On the other hand, if the smell is too strong, you can clean the inside of the navel with a Q-Tip dipped in hydrogen peroxide. Do it once a day as long as the smell remains. 

Other Things You Need to Know

There are many interesting facts about belly buttons. For one, it’s filled with bacteria, which is why it’s essential to clean them by using cotton swabs with a bit of rubbing alcohol to get rid of the dirt. 

Another thing is, it’s like a scar as it marks the place where the umbilical cord once connected you to the placenta. When that cord is cut, a little piece gets left behind that eventually falls off within the first week of a baby’s life. 

Also, poking it will give you the urge to pee. It’s natural to feel a tingly sensation when you stick your finger in it. In some cases, it can also cause urine to leak out of the belly button. This happens during the early stages of pregnancy. A tube that connects the bladder of the fetus and the belly button allows urine to drain. 

After birth, it turns into a scar on the bladder. Some people may never know they still have the tube attached because it only turns into a problem when it doesn’t close up. When it does, the urine can travel up through the tube and leak out of the navel. In this case, a surgery may be necessary.