What to do if a newborn has a umbilical cord infection?

Babies in their early childhood have very poor immunity and are therefore very susceptible to diseases, especially newborns. Many mothers have encountered infections in their babies’ belly buttons, but they don’t know how to treat this condition. So, what should we do if a newborn has a navel infection?

First, what should we do if a newborn has a navel infection? The initial symptom of neonatal omphalitis is just a little exudate in the navel, it is wet, and the skin around the navel is slightly red. At this time, if you can pay attention to keeping the navel dry and place it in a clean and hygienic environment, omphalitis will gradually improve. Mild symptoms of umbilical inflammation include discharge of water or thick secretions from the navel. At this time, just use a medical cotton swab dipped in alcohol to disinfect the baby's belly button every day. When disinfecting, not only the surface of the belly button should be disinfected, but the inside of the belly button should also be disinfected. The baby may feel pain, but parents don’t need to worry too much. If the disinfection is not thorough, the inflammation of the navel will worsen. After the disinfection is completed, you can put a piece of gauze to cover it.

Second, if the skin around the baby's belly button starts to become red and swollen, you can feel a slight heat on the skin surface when you touch it with your hand. At the same time, smelly purulent secretions appear in the umbilical cord. The baby shows symptoms of anorexia, vomiting and fever. This indicates that the baby's navel may have become festering. You should take your baby to the hospital immediately. At this time, local disinfection alone is far from enough. If not treated in time, it may cause sepsis or peritonitis, which is very dangerous for the baby. When using a diaper, it should be tied below the belly button and not covering the belly button. When the diaper is soaked with urine, the urine will seep into the navel along with the overly long diaper, making the navel in a humid environment, causing various pathogens to multiply locally and eventually leading to inflammation of the baby's navel. Therefore, you should pay more attention to check whether the diaper is wet.

Replace it in time to keep the area clean and hygienic. If the navel is found to be contaminated with urine, it must be cleaned immediately. Use a clean cotton swab to dry the navel and then gently wipe it with disinfectant solution. Also, wash your hands before changing the diaper to prevent contamination of the navel. When cleaning your baby's belly button, you should have a few extra cotton swabs ready. First, use a dry cotton swab to clean the navel, then take two cotton swabs and dip them in an appropriate amount of 75% alcohol, and wipe from the root of the detached umbilical cord in a clockwise direction from inside to outside. After using up one cotton swab, replace it with another one. Avoid using the same cotton swab repeatedly and do not wipe from the outside of the belly button to the inside, so as not to bring bacteria from the surrounding skin into the navel.

What should you do if your newborn's navel is infected? Before the umbilical cord falls off, you can only give your baby a sponge bath. You can also scrub the upper and lower body sections separately, but do not immerse the body below the navel in the bathtub. Because the umbilical cord that is about to fall off is a kind of necrotic tissue, it is easy to cause infection if it comes into contact with water. After washing, first use a sterilized cotton ball to dry the navel, then use 75%

Alcohol disinfection. When disinfecting, be sure to gently lift the umbilical cord stump that has not fallen off, apply the disinfectant evenly on the base of the navel, wait for it to dry slightly, and then wrap it with clean gauze. After the umbilical cord falls off, you still need to be careful when bathing your baby. After washing, you should use a clean and soft gauze or cotton swab to dry the umbilical fossa, and then use 75%

Disinfect with alcohol to keep the navel dry and clean. Once your baby's navel has completely healed, you can safely give him a bath.

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