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Home Care Advice for Umbilical Cord Problems

Care at Home
ADVICE FOR SUPERFICIAL INFECTION OF THE CORD OR NAVEL
  1. Reassurance: A cloudy discharge from the navel is usually a mild infection from normal skin bacteria. Usually home treatment can clear it up quickly.
  2. Alcohol: Clean the navel with rubbing alcohol 4 times per day. Use a cotton swab to clean away the dried pus or debris. Be vigorous about it. The umbilical area does not have any sensation, so the alcohol won't sting. If the cord is still present, clean underneath it by lifting it and bending it to each side. If the cord has fallen off, pour some alcohol into the depression and remove it after 2 or 3 minutes. (Reason: it takes that long to kill the bacteria.)
  3. Antibiotic Ointment: If a little pus is present, apply an antibiotic ointment (OTC) 4 times per day after each cleansing. Bacitracin or Polysporin ointment will do.
  4. Diapers: Keep the umbilical area dry to help healing. To provide air exposure, keep the diaper folded down below the cord area.
  5. Dryness: Avoid tub baths until the area is healed.
  6. IF these symptoms become worse: Review Should I Call? recommendations.

ADVICE FOR NORMAL UMBILICAL BLEEDING
  1. Reassurance: A few drops of blood is normal with cord separation. Friction against clothing may make it recur.
  2. Bleeding: Apply direct pressure for 10 minutes with a sterile gauze to stop any bleeding. Clean the area beforehand, rather than afterwards. (Reason: to prevent rebleeding.)
  3. Diapers: Prevent friction on the umbilical stump from the diaper by folding it down or cutting a wedge out of it.
  4. IF these symptoms become worse: Review Should I Call? recommendations.
ADVICE NORMAL EARLY SEPARATION OF THE CORD
  1. Reassurance: The cord can't fall off too early. The average cord falls off between 10 and 14 days.
  2. Alcohol: Clean the navel with rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab 4 times per day. Pour some alcohol into the depression and remove it after 2 or 3 minutes. (Reason: it takes that long to kill the bacteria.) The umbilical area does not have any sensation, so the alcohol won't sting.
  3. Diapers: Keep the umbilical area dry to help healing. To provide air exposure, keep the diaper folded down below the navel area.
  4. Dryness: Avoid tub baths until the area is healed.
  5. IF these symptoms become worse: Review Should I Call? recommendations.
ADVICE FOR NORMAL DELAYED SEPARATION OF THE CORD
  1. Reassurance: Most cords fall off between 10 and 14 days. All cords eventually fall off by themselves. Continue to be patient.
  2. Alcohol: Stop applying rubbing alcohol to the cord. Rubbing alcohol sometimes kills the good bacteria that help the cord dry up and fall off.
  3. Diapers: Help the cord dry up faster by keeping the diaper folded below it. An easier approach is to cut out a wedge of the diaper (if disposable) with a scissors so the cord is exposed to the air.

  4. IF these symptoms become worse: Review Should I Call? recommendations.
  1. Symptom Description
  2. Should I Call?

Parent Care for Pediatric Symptoms. Copyright © 2000-2008. Barton D. Schmitt, MD
Reviewed/Modified: Jan. 2008 by Intermountain Healthcare, Inc.


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