Yahoo Movies Wat happens if you don't wash your belly button, according to a viral doctor on TikTok
If you've ever wondered what happens if you don't wash your belly button – if anything at all – then wonder no more. And to start, all we have to say first of all is that if you aren't someone who even thinks about cleaning the area of your body, you might want to start...
One doctor on TikTok revealed the grim reality of why (look away now if you have omphalophobia, a fear of all things navels!) it's so important to keep your tummy button clean. Sharing a clip with his now 5.1 million followers on the social media platform, Dr Karan Raj gave us all a lesson in belly button hygiene.
Dr Raj's video starts off with a snippet from fellow TikToker @crinc_3 which said: "My partner told me they'd never cleaned their belly button because it hurt. So I cleaned it." The clip then goes on to show the person behind the camera "digging" into the belly button and "finding more and more gunk". After some careful tweezing, the TikToker exclaims "I found something" before pulling out what they describe as a "huge blackhead".
To explain exactly what the f*** is going on here, Dr Raj took to his own TikTok to break it down. And by it, we mean the inner workings of the belly button. "All flesh holes can build up with sweat, dead skin cells, oils, clothing fabric, bacteria and forbidden cheese," he says in the clip, which has since been viewed over 400k times.
"If not washed out on a regular basis, this material can accumulate and harden into an omphalolith – a belly button stone," he adds. "Belly button stones come in a wide array of colours, it's usually black but can be a light brown." Yiiiikes.
Understandably, it didn't take long for concerned TikTokers to make their way to the comments section to share their, err, thoughts on the whole situ. "I didn't have a fear until now" wrote one follower, with another writing "Not the forbidden cheese." A third user commented "I think I have seen everything on TikTok now," as someone else said: "Not me cleaning my belly button straight after watching this."
How to clean your belly button
To prevent sweat, dead skin cells, oils and other kinds of gunk building up inside your belly button, it's important to keep the area clean using warm water and mild soap. Use a damp cloth to gently clean in and around the belly button, then rinse with clean water and dry off with a towel.
Of course, if you have a belly button piercing, you'll need to take extra care to avoid developing an infection. After washing your hands, you may be advised to gently clean the area with a sterile saline, but this should be specifically labelled to use on wounds. Contrary to what you might think, the NHS advises against using contact lens saline, eye drops or other saline solutions, homemade salt water solution (as this will be too salty and strong), or alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, antibacterial soaps, iodine or any other harsh product (these can damage cells).
Anyway, BRB, we're off to wash our eyes after watching that TikTok...
This article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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