Body odor is natural part of human physiognomy, while some people may experience less of it, it can be stronger in others. This odor is not uniform throughout your body, certain body part smell more, like your armpits, groin and feet. The Cleveland clinic explains that this smell is due to bacteria and smell on your skin. Your body odor can also change if you are on medication, or ate a certain food or even experience some hormonal changes.

Similarly, It's common for belly buttons to have a slight odor, but sometimes it can become noticeable and unpleasant. While a little smell is often nothing to worry about, a strong, foul odor, especially when combined with other symptoms, could be a sign of a more serious problem. It's important to understand the possible causes of a smelly belly button so you can take the right steps to address it. Knowing when to simply clean it better versus when to seek medical help is key to keeping yourself healthy.

Possible Causes of Belly Button Odor

If your belly button smells bad and you also have redness, swelling, pain, or bleeding, you should see a doctor. These symptoms could be a sign of an infection that needs medical treatment Here are some reasons why this may be happening.

Not Cleaning It Well

Just like any other part of your body, your belly button needs regular cleaning. If you skip cleaning it with soap and water, things like dirt, sweat, and natural oils can build up inside. As explained above, his buildup creates a breeding ground for bacteria, which can lead to a musty or unpleasant smell. This is especially true if you have a deep belly button, as it has folds and crevices that are harder to reach and clean properly. A deep belly button is a warm, damp place, which is exactly what bacteria love.

Stuff Getting Stuck

Even if you take regular showers, your belly button can still collect things like dead skin cells, lint from your clothes, and other small pieces of debris. WebMD explains that these things can get trapped inside, and when mixed with moisture from sweat or water, they can start to smell bad. Sometimes, these things can clump together and form a hard, smelly lump called a navel stone. This stone can be quite smelly, even though it's usually not painful.

Bacterial Infections

We all have bacteria on our skin, but sometimes they can cause infections. According to WebMD if bacteria get inside your belly button, especially through a small cut or scratch, they can multiply and cause an infection. Infections like impetigo and cellulitis can cause redness, swelling, pain, and pus, along with a bad smell. People with weak immune systems or poor blood flow are more likely to get these infections. If these infections are not treated, they can lead to serious problems, so it's important to see a doctor.

Yeast Infections

Yeast, which is a type of fungus, can also grow in your belly button, especially if it's warm and moist. According to the Cleveland Clinic a common type of yeast is Candida. Yeast infections can cause a sour, bread-like smell, along with redness and itching. Sweating a lot, wearing tight clothes, or taking antibiotics can increase your risk. People with diabetes or weak immune systems are also more likely to get yeast infections. These infections usually go away with antifungal creams, but it's important to keep the area dry to prevent them from coming back.

Cysts

Cysts are small, fluid-filled bumps that can form under the skin. They can happen when dead skin cells and oils get trapped in your belly button. Most of the time, these cysts are harmless and don't cause any problems. But sometimes, they can become infected, which can cause them to swell, become red, and release a gray or white discharge with a cheesy smell. If a cyst gets infected, it might need to be drained by a doctor.

Piercings

If you have a belly button piercing, it's very important to keep it clean. If you don't clean it properly, bacteria can build up around the piercing and cause an infection. Signs of an infection include pain, redness, swelling, and smelly pus. If the infection is not treated, it can spread to your bloodstream and cause serious health problems. Cleaning your piercing regularly with warm, soapy water can help prevent infections.

One in four or 25 percent of adults with type-2 diabetes in India also suffer from liver fibrosis, according to an alarming study published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia journal today.

With data from more than 9,000 patients across the country, it is the largest ever real-world survey of liver fibrosis in type 2 diabetes from any low- or middle-income country.

While fatty liver disease has been touted as the most common liver condition among diabetes patients, the new study established liver fibrosis as the real danger among people with high blood sugar.

“Type 2 diabetes is closely linked to fatty liver disease (also known as MASLD). But how common is liver Fibrosis — the real danger — in Indian diabetics? Our answer: 1 in 4 has clinically significant liver fibrosis. One in 20 already has probable cirrhosis. Most had no symptoms. We propose liver fibrosis as the ‘4th major complication’ of diabetes,” said Ashish Kumar, from Ganga Ram Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (GRIPMER), from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, in a post on social media platform X.

Also read: About 84% IT Employees Are Suffering With Fatty Liver Disease - Why Screenings Are Necessary For Corporate Workers

What Did The Study Find?

Fatty liver is typically the first and reversible stage of liver disease, where excess fat builds up in liver cells. Left untreated, it progresses to liver fibrosis, which is the excessive accumulation of scar tissue (collagen) in the liver resulting from chronic inflammation. The condition then progresses to the third and late stage, irreversible scarring (fibrosis) of the liver. The final stage is liver cancer.

The DiaFib-Liver Study included a total of 9,202 adults with type-2 diabetes patients who underwent FibroScan (VCTE) to assess liver fibrosis in routine diabetes care.

Of these:

• 26 percent had clinically significant fibrosis,
• 14 percent had advanced fibrosis,
• 5 percent had probable cirrhosis
• 65 percent had fatty liver disease.

• obesity
• dyslipidaemia
• kidney problems
• diabetes duration ≥10 years.

Fibrosis: The Screening Target

The study suggested the urgent need to integrate fibrosis screening into national diabetes programs.

“One in four adults with type 2 diabetes in India has clinically significant liver fibrosis and one in twenty already has probable cirrhosis, establishing advanced liver disease as a 'fourth major complication' of diabetes,” said the researchers.

“The DiaFibLiver Study calls for: Fibrosis — not steatosis — as the screening target. FibroScan integration into routine diabetes care. Moving beyond ultrasound-based referral,” Jha said.

“We hope this data from India adds to the global conversation on diabetes and liver disease,” he added.

Also read: The Silent Rise of Fatty Liver Disease: How India-Specific Guidelines Can Help

The findings highlight the urgent need to:

• move beyond steatosis
• systematically integrate fibrosis assessment into routine diabetes care,
• deploy non-invasive tools such as vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) in community practice
• define screening strategies,
• evaluate therapeutic interventions.

Everyday Habits That Harm the Liver

Certain lifestyle choices can accelerate liver damage, such as:

Overeating processed or fried foods

High sugar intake (soft drinks, sweets, desserts)

Physical inactivity or prolonged sitting

Ignoring health issues like diabetes or hypertension

Crash dieting or taking unprescribed supplements.

How To Improve Liver Health?

Early screening and detection are key to prevent irreversible stages. Yet liver disease can be prevented with lifestyle changes such as:

• Eating a balanced diet with vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean protein
• Engaging in at least 30 minutes of exercise daily
• Staying hydrated to help the liver flush out toxins
• Avoiding alcohol and smoking
• Avoiding self-medication and unnecessary pills
• Getting routine health screenings.

New Delhi: Every day, the brain processes hundreds of choices. Most pass unnoticed: what to wear, which route to take, what to eat. But accumulated over hours and across competing demands, this constant decision-making exacts a cost. Decision fatigue is the gradual erosion of the brain’s capacity to make good choices, and over time it affects both mental functioning and physical health. Dr Shivi Kataria, Consultant – Psychiatry, CK Birla Hospitals, Jaipur, addressed the problem of plenty and said that it could take a toll on mental health in certain circumstances.

Read more: India Launches 1st Repository Of Data On Major Psychiatric Disorders

What are the signs?

The earliest signs tend to be emotional. Simple decisions start to feel disproportionately heavy. Choosing between two options takes longer than it should. Irritability surfaces. Tasks that once felt manageable begin to pile up as the mental energy required to engage with them thins. Procrastination, self-doubt, and a general withdrawal from decisions are common responses, with the brain essentially rationing what little capacity remains.

Cognitive symptoms follow. Concentration narrows. Judgement becomes less reliable. Small errors accumulate. People in this state often describe feeling mentally stuck, present in the room but unable to engage with any clarity or momentum.

The physical dimension is frequently overlooked. Headaches, low energy, disrupted sleep, and difficulty sustaining attention are all associated with sustained decision overload. These symptoms register what prolonged mental strain produces in the body and are worth taking seriously.

Who is most at risk?

Decision fatigue affects most people at some point, but the load is not evenly distributed. Professionals in high-responsibility roles, caregivers, and anyone managing multiple competing demands make a disproportionately high number of decisions each day. By the end of a long day, the quality of choices made about food, purchases, relationships, or work often reflects exhaustion more than intention.

Read more: Smartphone Overuse Linked To Rising Risk Of Eating Disorders Among Youth, Study Finds

Is there a solution?

Reducing the number of decisions that require active thought each day is the most direct intervention. Fixed routines for meals, schedules, and recurring tasks remove the need to deliberate repeatedly over the same ground. This is conservation of mental energy, and it compounds over time.

Important decisions are better made earlier in the day, when the brain is rested and cognitive resources are intact. Short breaks during sustained work periods allow partial recovery. Even brief physical activity or deliberate rest between decision-heavy tasks restores some capacity.

The brain has a finite decision-making budget each day. Spending it on low-stakes choices leaves less available for the ones that carry real consequence.

While fevers are often overlooked and brushed aside or even managed with antibiotics — a dangerous trend — an alarmingly nationwide study linked it to infectious diseases with far-reaching consequences.

The report, based on data of over one lakh individuals in India with fever, between 2023 and 2025, showed that these were not vague or self-limiting, but in more than 30 percent or one-third cases had clear links to serious infections, such as dengue, and typhoid.

According to the report by healthcare diagnostics company Thyrocare, the fevers were mostly linked with

• typhoid – in over 18 percent cases
• dengue -- over 14 percent cases.
• Other diseases include malaria, chikungunya, and leptospirosis.

Presence Of Multiple Infections

Importantly, the findings highlighted the presence of co-infections in 10 per cent cases. The most common was a combination of dengue and typhoid.

Dr Preet Kaur, Chief Scientific Officer, Thyrocare, said that a significant number of patients carry serious infections, sometimes more than one at a time, revealing patterns that simple assumptions cannot capture.

"Beyond the visible rise in temperature, laboratory markers highlight hidden stress on organs, from drops in platelet counts to elevated liver enzymes, underscoring that fever is a systemic signal, not an isolated event," she added.

Also read: ‘Breakbone Fever’: US CDC Warns Of Dengue Surge Across 17 Countries

Further, the report noted that dengue positivity declined significantly over the three-year report period, malaria increased despite its lower overall base.

Typhoid and chikungunya rose in 2024 before easing in 2025 but remained present across the testing population.

Also read: Drug Resistance Driving Severe Typhoid Disease, Death Among Children Under-5s in India: Lancet Study

Fever: Men Vs Women

The report noted that more women were affected with typhoid than men. On the contrary, men reported more malaria cases.

More than 32 percent of females had fevers compared to 29 percent of men. Fevers in women was largely driven by higher typhoid detection (21 percent vs 15 percent).

Malaria affected men more than twice as often as women (1.1 percent vs 0.5 percent).

The lab reports also revealed key physiological markers such as platelet counts and liver function among people with fever, dengue, and malaria.

Low platelet levels were seen in

• 27 percent of patients with fever
• 80 percent malaria positive patients
• 37 percent dengue-positive patients

• All fever patients (56 percent) showed elevated SGOT levels and 37 percent SGPT
• Liver stress was seen across patients with dengue, malaria and leptospirosis.

Dengue cases rose throughout the year and typically peaked around October.

Typhoid positivity steadily fell from 2023 to its lowest in 2025. Despite a mild monsoon spike each year, 2025 remained consistently lower overall.

Chikungunya cases rose gradually from lower, volatile levels in 2023, peaked sharply in 2024, and moderated to a softer trend in 2025.

Malaria positivity remained relatively low overall but increased during the monsoon months, with transmission peaking between May and September.

Over the three-year period, malaria positivity rose from 0.5 percent to 1.1 percent, indicating a gradual increase despite its lower overall base.