Umbilical stump- blood and pain

amother

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 2:05 pm

My baby is about 12 days old. His cord stump hasn't yet fallen off. The past 2-3 days, it has been a bit bloody around it (some dried on the skin and diaper, nothing gushing out or anything). It also seems to hurt him when I touch it- like when I tried to clean off the dried blood around it. I also looked underneath a bit to see if it looked infected or anything- the edges are all off the skin, like they're ready to fall off. But underneath it still looks very wet. I read that a bit of dried blood is normal, but is the pain and moistness underneath also normal? I also read that a fever could be a sign of infection- he does not have a fever, but a couple of times I noticed his head had kind of a cold sweat. I have no idea what I should be expecting- any advice? Also, if anyone in Israel has experience with Leumit, how does it work if you have such a question? Call the moked? Go to the office in the morning? Do I need an appointment with Tipat Chalav or something?

miravisy

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 2:27 pm

Hi, I am no doctor at all but this should be taken to a competent pediatrician.

We are on Meuchedet, not sure how it works on Leumit. My baby boy had what sounds like you are describing, although my GP and Mohel noticed it before the bris and were concerned. I don't want to scare you, but will say that it was something that had to be corrected surgically and needed to be done then to prevent an infection. At the time it was very scary, especially until you know what it is. We were sent to Hadassah Ein Kerem and they were wonderful! We also had Professor Froman perform the surgery privately - got back a decent amount from Meuchedet. He is almost 1 yo bli ayin hora and bh you would never have known. Even his belly button looks "nice and normal"

Bh he is doing great now but you MUST have it checked, especially at this age. Bh he does not have fever but you still must find out if there is anyting to be concerned about.

Feel free to pm me for more info

amother wrote:

busydev

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 2:32 pm

miravisy wrote:

what did he have? a stump that hurt and was slowly drying? please provide a bit more detail and dont unnecessarily scare a new mother.
And the OP did not say a dr or mohel noticed anything in this case.

busydev

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 2:48 pm

amother wrote:

OP here- the stump is actually partially coming off now, and what's underneath is still yellow and wet. I am going to take him to the nurse tomorrow morning, just would love to get some reassurance if possible or warning if necessary. Thanks!

normal ime. thats the ooze.

I think the pp's son had a hernia or something. what you describe sounds very normal. (my credentials are 2 kids and 4 younger siblings that I remember as newborns (as opposed to the others that I dont really/wasnt changing diapers yet)

amother

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 2:53 pm

OP again- I just realized I was folding down his diaper to try to put less pressure on the stump, and it looks like that folded diaper top was actually prying the stump off from below- apparently very painfully. So that at least partially explains why it is falling off but still wet underneath. Does that give anyone any further insight? Thank you both for sharing your experiences- at least I know the different possible outcomes to expect now- even if I definitely prefer one over the other!

miravisy

Thu, Sep 11 2014, 11:37 pm

Hi! if I remember correctly it was omphalomesenteric duct for resection - not a hernia. Also if I remember correctly one of the issues is that the naval area is open so if they can pull out any fluid from there then chas vsholom fluids can also go back in causing infection. My son was cauterized, on antibiotics but not getting better so we were told to hold off on bris until we have more info since there was concern about a possilbe infection/open wound next to another open wound - bris area.

Btw, to me as a mother it almost looked as if his cord was not cut off correctly.

Bh once we had a diagnosis he had surgery at 2 weeks of age and had a bris at approx 1 month of age. Like I said before, you would never know today.

CHASDEI HASHM!

this is very short version of this saga, feel free to ask specific questions.

busydev wrote:

amother

Sun, Sep 14 2014, 7:09 am

Thank you so much for your all your help! We went to the doctor Friday morning, and the nurse just cleaned it well (making the stump almost fall off). Then the doctor took a look and I think she said we'd see if there's a problem after it falls off, and needs to be cauterized or something. Turns out it fell off a few minutes before Shabbos and looked pretty good, and now looks just about perfect. So if anyone sees this later, they shouldn't necessarily worry too much. Thanks again!