Is It Bad to Pick Stuff Out of Your Bellybutton?
Health ConditionsSkin Conditions

How Bad Is It Really to Pick Stuff Out of Your Belly Button?

How Bad Is It Really to Pick Stuff Out of Your Belly Button?
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Updated on August 6, 2025
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Earwax, boogers, toenail fungus — the body can be pretty gross sometimes. Don’t forget to add “belly-button gunk” to that list. And when you see something in there, you probably want to get it out. But is it bad to pick stuff out of your belly button?

Here, learn the causes of belly-button gunk and when and how to properly clean it out.

First, What Is the Stuff Inside Your Belly Button?

There can be a wide range of stuff hanging out in your belly button. Lint, or “navel fluff,” is made of the fibers from clothing that shed from things that regularly rub against your skin, like clothing, towels, and blankets. The hair around your navel essentially “catches” these fibers, and they get stuck in your belly button. Your navel can also harbor bacteria and moisture.

Researchers at North Carolina State University actually conducted a Belly Button Biodiversity Project to isolate bacteria from a wide range of belly buttons and found 2,368 different types of bacteria lurking in their sample of 60 belly buttons.

Much of the bacteria was unique to a specific person, but some of the most common types of bacteria found included ‌staphylococcus‌, ‌corynebacterium‌, and ‌streptococcus‌.

Your belly button may also contain dirt, sebum (oil), and dead skin cells. All together, this can cause comedones, which are like blackheads, to develop in your belly button; this buildup can potentially lead to a naval stone, a brownish-black bump. These can start to leak white or yellow pus if they become infected; they may also bleed if irritated or infected.

Epidermoid cysts, or benign bumps filled with pus, can also form.

Effects of Picking at Your Belly Button

If you’re gently pulling out some lint, you’re fine — there’s no reason to leave that stuff in when you find it.

Problems can occur, however, if you’re actively picking at your belly button in such a way that you nick or scrape your skin or draw blood. At that point, you can be at risk for an infection.

In addition, if you have a belly-button piercing and are chronically picking at it, you can open yourself up to infection or the development of scar tissue.

Serious ramifications of chronic picking can include a staph or MRSA infection.

Is Picking Part of a Bigger Problem?

If you’re picking your belly button excessively, it could be a symptom of a skin picking disorder called excoriation disorder or dermatillomania, which is a mental illness that has roots in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Chronically picking at healthy skin, wounds, or scabs is one symptom. Seeing a mental health professional can get you on the path to treatment, which typically involves a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and sometimes medication.

How to Clean Your Belly Button

First, know that it’s normal to have ‌some‌ bacteria in your belly button. Your skin has an entire microbiome of its own, comprised of millions of bacteria, fungi, and viruses that help to protect your body from the outside world.

There’s no need to actively try to make your belly button completely bacteria-free. However, if you notice you’re getting acne bumps, folliculitis, or your belly button is itchy or smelly, that may be a sign you need to do some additional cleaning.

Start by washing your belly button in the shower with soap and water. Make sure you dry it well. Then gently rub your belly button with a cotton swab.

If you do scrape your skin, moisturize the area with Aquaphor and cover it with a bandage.

The Takeaway

  • Your belly button can collect lint, or fibers, from clothing and towels that rub against your skin. Bacteria can also grow in your navel.
  • It’s fine to gently remove belly-button fuzz with your finger and clean it with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, but in general, it’s best to leave your navel alone.
  • If you think you have an infection, your belly button smells bad, or you can’t stop picking at it, see a dermatologist.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Hulcr J et al. A Jungle in There: Bacteria in Belly Buttons are Highly Diverse, but Predictable. PLOS One. November 7, 2012.
  2. Mushtaq S. Omphalolith: A Nugget in the Navel. Indian Dermatology Online Journal. January–February 2021.
  3. Epidermoid Cyst. Medline Plus. May 21, 2023.
  4. Bacterial Skin Infections. New York State Department of Health.
  5. Excoriation Disorder (Skin Picking or Dermatillomania). Mental Health America.
  6. Lee HJ et al. Skin Barrier Function and the Microbiome. International Journal of Molecular Science. October 28, 2022.
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Susan Bard, MD

Medical Reviewer
Castle Connolly Top Doctor

Susan Bard, MD, is a clinical instructor in the department of dermatology at Weill Cornell Medicine and an adjunct clinical instructor in the department of dermatology at Mount Sinai in New York City. Her professional interests include Mohs micrographic surgery, cosmetic and laser procedures, and immunodermatology.

She is a procedural dermatologist with the American Board of Dermatology and a fellow of the American College of Mohs Surgery.

Dr. Bard has written numerous book chapters and articles for many prominent peer-reviewed journals, and authored the textbook The Laser Treatment of Vascular Lesions.

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Jessica Migala

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Jessica Migala is a freelance writer with over 15 years of experience, specializing in health, nutrition, fitness, and beauty. She has written extensively about vision care, diabetes, dermatology, gastrointestinal health, cardiovascular health, cancer, pregnancy, and gynecology. She was previously an assistant editor at Prevention where she wrote monthly science-based beauty news items and feature stories.

She has contributed to more than 40 print and digital publications, including Cosmopolitan, O:The Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, Woman’s Day, Women’s Health, Fitness, Family Circle, Health, Prevention, Self, VICE, and more. Migala lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, two young boys, rescue beagle, and 15 fish. When not reporting, she likes running, bike rides, and a glass of wine (in moderation, of course).

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