What It Means When Your Belly Button Hurts

If you feel pain in your belly button area during a meal or after you have finished eating, you may be experiencing indigestion. As family physician Sandria T. Vernon told Riverside Commonwealth Family Medicine, "About one of every four people will have [indigestion] at some point." This can happen regardless of age, and it may be regular or occasional.

To prevent the onset of indigestion, avoid eating fatty foods and limit the amount of alcohol and caffeinated drinks you consume. If you're typically a fast eater, try to slow down, and also avoid overeating (via MedlinePlus) Don't exercise right after you finish eating, and chew your food completely so it can be properly digested.

You may be tempted to take aspirin or ibuprofen to relieve your belly button pain, but if indigestion is the cause, this can make matters worse. At the very least, you should take NSAIDs on a full stomach.

Belly button pain doesn't happen to every pregnant person. Still, as your tummy grows and stretches during these months, you might experience some discomfort. If your navel is in an "innie" during the stages of bringing life into the world, your belly button may start protruding, which can cause friction as your clothes rub against that part of your skin. A maternity tummy sleeve or maternity shaper is a great way to mitigate friction (via What to Expect).

A belly button piercing could also cause pain, as your stomach is stretching during pregnancy. Some choose to take it out during pregnancy, while others opt to keep it in. Professional piercer Adrian Castillo has some advice if you choose to keep wearing your piercing during pregnancy. "There's definitely jewelry that I'd recommend pregnant women staying away from," he told Allure. "You'd want to avoid most metal-based jewelry for sure, like steel, titanium, and gold, even. There's no flexibility with metals." Jewelry made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a much better option for those wanting to sport their belly button piercing while pregnant (via Healthline).

While pain below the belly button isn't the most common symptom of a urinary tract infection (UTI), it's still a symptom to watch for. Other symptoms include a burning sensation when urinating and discoloration in your urine (via Cedars Sinai). You may also feel like you have to pee but are unable to, and you may even develop a fever.

As Medical News Today advises, you should see your doctor if the pain in your abdomen area or the discomfort you experience while urinating continues for more than a couple of days. There are a few ways to combat a urinary tract infection — but prevention is the best path to take. Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids, especially water, and wiping from front to back after urinating are the top two preventative measures you can take to prevent the spread of bacteria, which causes UTIs (via Healthline).

The pain you're feeling around the area of your belly button could be because you're suffering from a relatively common syndrome, which approximately 20% of Americans have. The condition is called irritable bowel syndrome, better known as IBS (via University of Michigan Health). "IBS is a gastrointestinal (GI) condition that causes recurrent attacks of abdominal pain or discomfort in association with bowel habits," according to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders.

Dr. Priyam V. Tripathi, a gastroenterologist at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, told Self, "With IBS, the abdominal cramping is usually in the lower abdomen ... and often improves after completing bowel movements." However, the cramping sensation you're feeling below your navel area is only one of the symptoms. Others include stomach pain, bloating, and in some instances, nausea, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

You're going to want to see a doctor if you start experiencing more severe symptoms such as bleeding from your rectum, weight loss, trouble with swallowing, or continuous pain that won't go away by passing gas or going to the bathroom. While there's no cure for IBS, rest assured the symptoms can be controlled, often through diet and lifestyle changes (via Mayo Clinic).

Yeast, a fungus that occurs effortlessly and naturally on the skin, can thrive in your navel. According to the Cleveland Clinic, you may be more prone to get fungal infections if you wear clothes that are too tight, practice poor hygiene, or if the weather is hot and muggy. However, fungus isn't the only thing that grows easily in moist, dark places like your belly button. Bacteria also thrive there. In fact, one study found that 67 different types of bacteria can be found in the navel.

Bacterial infections are typically accompanied by pain, swelling, scabbing, and yellowish or greenish discharge. Fungal infections, on the other hand, tend to itch and may cause a white discharge from the belly button area. Whatever uncomfortable symptoms you're experiencing in or around your belly button, it's imperative that you see a doctor so you can adequately be diagnosed and treated.

A dull achy pain in your belly button and swelling and bulging near the naval, may mean that you may have a hernia — specifically an umbilical hernia (via Loyola Medicine). Dr. Troy E. Madsen, a tenured associate professor in the department of emergency medicine at the University of Utah and an ER physician, told the University of Utah Health Sciences that a hernia is "a tear in the lining of the abdomen."

While an umbilical hernia is pretty common in infants, adults can also develop one. An umbilical hernia occurs when part of your intestine bulges through the gap in your ab muscles near your belly button. A hernia can result when too much pressure is applied to a weak section of the abdominal muscles. Straining to lift or pick up heavy objects, having obesity, giving birth, and even having a persistent cough can cause a person to develop an umbilical hernia, according to John Hopkins Medicine. In children, umbilical hernias often go away on their own. In adults, surgery may be recommended.

We are not trying to scare you, but one of the key symptoms of pancreatitis is extreme pain that begins right above your belly button and spreads to your back or chest. According to the University of Minnesota's Department, "Pancreatitis is an extremely painful inflammation of the pancreas that affects about 80,000 people in the United States each year."

There are two types of pancreatitis: acute and chronic. Acute pancreatitis will almost certainly heal with treatment, but chronic pancreatitis will last and may worsen. Your pancreas can become inflamed for various reasons, but excessive drinking or having gallstones are common causes. Along with the severe pain above your navel, you may feel a few other symptoms such as nausea, fast heart rate, and sensitivity or soreness in your upper abdomen area, to name a few. The best ways to prevent pancreatitis are to live a healthy lifestyle and maintain your weight by exercising consistently. You should avoid partaking in fad diets and quit smoking if you currently smoke (via Everyday Health).

Among the reasons you could be experiencing belly button pain is Crohn's disease. One of the more prevalent symptoms of the disease is discomfort behind your belly button, which can feel like a dull pain to a sharp excruciating cramping pain. It usually occurs one to two hours after consuming a meal (via Colon & Rectal Surgical Specialists of New York).

Dr. Bill Faubion, a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic, explained in a video for the Mayo Clinic that Crohn's disease is "an inflammatory bowel disease that causes chronic inflammation of the GI tract." In his video, Dr. Faubion also shared that more than a half-million people in the United States live with the disease. However, pain in and around the belly button pain isn't the only symptom that points to having Crohn's disease.

According to the Mayo Clinic, some of the other common indicators are a reoccurrence of diarrhea, weight loss, and fever. Since there could be many different reasons for pain in your abdominal area, it's important to talk to your physician.

There are many reasons a person can experience belly button pain. Some conditions are relatively minor, such as indigestion or constipation. However, some can be far more serious. Depending on the underlying cause of the pain, you could feel the aching in the upper or lower areas of your abdominal area and possibly beyond. If you're struggling with belly button discomfort, don't hesitate to seek medical attention.

According to the American College of Emergency Physicians, you should call your doctor if the abdominal pain you're experiencing is mild. But if you are experiencing pain that is either severe, sudden, or lasts longer than 30 minutes, you should head to the E.R.

Additionally, if your pain is accompanied by other alarming symptoms such as fever, bloody stools, vomiting, yellowing skin, or pain so severe it hurts to touch your stomach, you should seek emergency medical attention, advised the Mayo Clinic.