What to do if your baby's umbilical cord is inflamed

The baby's belly button is a very important part. If it is not well cared for, it is easy to cause inflammation of the baby's belly button. If the baby's belly button is inflamed, parents must take good care of it and do a good job of disinfection. They must pay attention to keeping the baby's belly button clean to avoid the child's urine contaminating the belly button. If the infection is more serious, it is best to take the baby to the hospital for thorough disinfection in time to avoid worsening of the condition.

Inflammation of the newborn's navel - If the baby's umbilical cord falls off late, the jelly tissue of the umbilical cord will easily become a place for bacteria to multiply, causing inflammation of the baby's navel. When the navel is inflamed, you will initially notice that the navel and surrounding tissues will become red and swollen, with sticky or purulent secretions and a foul odor. If not treated promptly, it can cause abdominal wall cellulitis, forming abscesses and necrosis. Bacteria can invade the blood circulation along the umbilical blood vessels that have not yet closed, causing sepsis.

If the baby's navel inflammation symptoms are not very serious, parents can apply 1% gentian violet to the baby and keep it dry and clean. If there is a lot of pus, you should take your baby to the hospital every day to change the dressing and use antibacterial drugs in time under the guidance of a doctor. Once an abscess is formed, it must be incised and drained to prevent the situation from further deteriorating.

The umbilical cord of a newborn does not fall off - If the baby's umbilical cord has not fallen off after 2 weeks, you should observe the condition of the umbilical cord carefully. As long as there are no signs of infection, such as no redness, swelling or pus, and no large amount of fluid oozing from the umbilical cord, there is no need to worry.

Principles of baby umbilical cord care

After the fetus is born, the umbilical cord is tied and cut, leaving a bluish-white stump. After a few hours, the stump turns brown-white. Then it gradually dries up, becomes thinner, and turns black. Under normal circumstances, the time when the umbilical cord falls off for most newborns will vary depending on the baby's condition, and it usually falls off 1 to 2 weeks after birth. When the umbilical cord first falls off, the wound surface is red and slightly moist, and it heals completely after a few days. Later, due to the contraction of the umbilical blood vessels inside the body, the skin is pulled and sunken to form the umbilical pit, commonly known as the "belly button".

As long as mothers follow the three principles of umbilical cord care, they can easily take care of their babies.

1. Keep dry. The baby's umbilical cord should be kept dry before it falls off. Especially if the base of the umbilical cord is accidentally wetted during bathing, it should be wiped clean with a clean cotton swab before performing umbilical cord care.

2. Avoid friction. The diaper should be of appropriate size, and the waist of the diaper should never be placed at the base of the umbilical cord. This will easily cause friction to the base of the umbilical cord when the baby moves, causing skin breakage, redness, and even bleeding.

3. Avoid stuffiness. Never apply creams, lotions or oils to the base of the umbilical cord, as this may prevent the cord from drying out and may even lead to infection.