What should I do if my newborn baby has pus coming out of his umbilical cord? Ten principles of newborn baby umbilical cord care

Improper care of the newborn's umbilical cord can cause many abnormalities, such as suppuration and bleeding. So what should mothers do when they encounter this situation? When we take care of the baby's umbilical cord in the lake, what principles should we follow and what should we pay attention to? Let's take a look~

What to do if the newborn has pus in the umbilical cord

When the skin around the baby's belly button becomes red and swollen, and you can feel a slight heat on the skin surface when you touch it with your hand, and purulent secretions with a foul odor appear in the navel, and the baby also has symptoms of anorexia, vomiting, and fever, it means that the baby's navel may have become festering.

What to do

You should take your baby to the hospital immediately.

The bacteria that cause omphalitis are mostly Staphylococcus aureus, hemolytic streptococci or Escherichia coli. They are all deadly bacteria to newborns and must be treated with antibiotics. At this time, local disinfection alone is far from enough. If the treatment is not timely, it may cause sepsis or peritonitis, which will be very dangerous.

What to do if your belly button is bleeding, leaking, or red

Before the baby successfully gets rid of the umbilical cord, some babies will encounter some minor problems, such as bleeding, discharge, and redness. Mothers should pay attention.

Newborn umbilical cord bleeding - mothers should first observe whether there is redness or swelling around the baby's umbilical cord. If there is just a little bleeding, it is not a big problem. Sometimes it may be due to the friction of clothes or quilts, which breaks the blood scab that has just formed on the umbilical cord, causing umbilical cord bleeding. At this time, parents should take good care of the baby's umbilical cord. The clothes and quilts for the baby must be soft.

Water flowing from the navel of a newborn baby - After the umbilical cord of a normal newborn baby falls off, the navel will be slightly moist or have a little secretion. After cleaning with alcohol or saline, it will dry up within a week. After the above treatment, if the navel still flows, it is an abnormal phenomenon and should be treated in time at the hospital.

Newborn baby's umbilical cord becomes red - During the process of the umbilical cord stump falling off, the navel will often become slightly red. This is a normal phenomenon during the process of the umbilical cord stump falling off, so don't worry. But if the navel and the skin around it become very red, and the skin feels hot when you touch it, it is likely that the navel is infected, so you should take your baby to see a doctor in time.

How to care for the umbilical cord of a newborn

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

2. Avoid friction. The size of the diaper should be appropriate, and the waist of the diaper should not be placed just at the base of the umbilical cord, otherwise the base of the umbilical cord may be easily rubbed when the baby moves, causing skin breakage, redness, and even bleeding.

3. Avoid stuffiness and heat. Do not apply creams, lotions or oils to the base of the umbilical cord, as this may cause the umbilical cord to dry out or even cause infection.

4. Generally, the baby's umbilical cord will gradually turn black and harden, and fall off in 1 to 2 weeks. If the baby's umbilical cord still does not fall off after 2 weeks, you should carefully observe the condition of the umbilical cord. As long as there are no signs of infection, such as no redness, swelling or suppuration, and no large amount of fluid oozing out of the umbilical fossa, there is no need to worry. In addition, you can use alcohol to wipe the baby's umbilical fossa to keep the umbilical cord stump dry, accelerate the shedding of the umbilical cord stump and the healing of the navel.

5. If the baby's navel area bleeds, turns red, has exudate, swelling, inflammation or bad smell, report these signs of possible infection to the doctor immediately.

6. Before the umbilical cord falls off, the area must be kept clean and dry, especially the diaper should not cover the navel to avoid wetting the navel wound after urination.

7. Check the gauze regularly for any bleeding. If there is any bleeding, you need to re-ligate to stop the bleeding. If there is no bleeding, just wipe the base of the umbilical cord with a 75% alcohol cotton swab every day and wait for it to fall off naturally.

8. Do not sprinkle anti-inflammatory powder on the navel to prevent infection. If there is purulent secretion in the navel, the surrounding skin is red, swollen, hot, and the child has anorexia, vomiting, fever or no temperature rise (rectal temperature below 35 degrees Celsius), it indicates omphalitis and should be treated in the hospital immediately.

9. Use gauze to protect the baby's belly button (start from the upper right and then start from the upper left): Use the cut gauze to surround the belly button. Overlap several layers of gauze to surround the belly button. Fold the right side of the gauze vertically. Fold the other side of the gauze vertically as well. Fold the top and bottom of the gauze. Secure it with tape. Stick it on a different position each time.

10. After the umbilical cord falls off naturally, the navel will be a little damp, and a little rice soup-like liquid will seep out. This is because the surface of the umbilical cord has not grown completely, and the liquid in the granulation tissue has seeped out. Just wipe it clean with 75% alcohol. Generally, 1 to 2 times a day is enough, and the navel will dry after 2 to 3 days. Gently wiping the umbilical cord stump with dry gauze can also accelerate the healing of the navel. If the exudate from the navel is like pus or has a foul smell, it means that the navel may be infected, and you should take your baby to the hospital.