# Belly button and penis **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005 "2011-08-08T23:16:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![diegojones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@diegojones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diegojones)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/1 "2011-08-08T23:16:32Z")
Again, if one of my threads has been discussed and I’m just not finding it; please help me refine how I search. Cleaning my belly button is a painful experience. Maybe not pain, but a tickle/itch feeling on the end of the penis. I know a few other men that have this issue (from asking, not experimenting). I haven’t found any woman that have the same experience in their genitalia, and it doesn’t seem to be universal among men. Any clues and is there a way to stop it? I hate a dirty belly button but I also hate cleaning it. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/2 "2011-08-08T23:18:53Z")
> [@diegojones](#): > > Cleaning my belly button is a painful experience. Maybe not pain, but a tickle/itch feeling on the end of the penis. Maybe try cleaning it with your finger instead of your penis? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/3 "2011-08-08T23:35:28Z")
Well my belly button is pretty low maintenance and a simple shower seems to clean it up quite nicely. But yes, when I put pressure on my belly button I too feel tingling at the end of the ol’ johnson. Not sure what causes this. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/4 "2011-08-09T00:01:14Z")
It may be a useful data point if “tinglers” stated whether or not they are circumcised. I’m circumcised, and despite thoroughly rooting around in my navel, I feel nothing at all on my penis. I feel cheated! ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/5 "2011-08-09T00:03:32Z")
Mr. Andco just tried it, and he says him, too. I love the Dope! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/6 "2011-08-09T00:05:31Z")
When I had a biopsy for prostate cancer, I could feel a strange feeling in my navel. My doctor said (and I probably can’t recite this exactly correctly) that when the umbilical cord is cut, the nerves leading to it often “hook up” with other nearby places in the body, and that connected feelings between the navel and other nearby spots on the body are not at all uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/7 "2011-08-09T01:12:59Z")
First I used my finger to poke around in my belly button. Didn’t feel anything strange. Then I pushed my belly button in with the head of my penis. Still nothing unexpected. I wonder what is causing this for you guys. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/8 "2011-08-09T01:22:14Z")
I’m female and occasionally clean/dry my navel with a cotton swab after showering. I get a little of the same feeling as the OP, the sensation is clitoral and not really pleasant or unpleasant, just kinda weird. Kind of a pulling inward and pinching feeling. Not really one to seek out. But I know exactly what the OP’s talking about. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/9 "2011-08-09T03:08:44Z")
I clean out my navel lint all the time, and have never had a corresponding feeling in my penis. You guys are lucky – you can give yiourself a thrill in public without anyone knowing. I _have_ fet a sensation elsewhere in my body when some other part is touched – like sometimes getting a feeling in my foot when touching my ear. Or getting "chills’ down my spine when my hair is rubbed, so I know the sort of phenomenon you mean. But nothing seems to be wired to my genitals. ---
**Author:** ![squidfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@squidfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squidfood)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/10 "2011-08-09T04:42:10Z")
Not a thrill, a cringe… it’s an awful feeling for me - sharp pain/slight tingling numbness. Ugh. And I hereby cancel out voltaire’s data point; I’m circumcised and I’ve got it. Always wondered what caused it so hoping some obscure answer comes along here. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/11 "2011-08-09T05:49:54Z")
> [@diegojones](#): > > I haven’t found any woman that have the same experience in their genitalia, and it doesn’t seem to be universal among men. I guess I fall in with the women you’re talked to. Cleaning my belly button sometimes makes me slightly sick to my stomach (quite probably psychosomatic rather than physiological since I find the idea so off-putting), but no feelings below the belt arise from this. Now, the pirate ship rides at the amusement park are another story… Along with what CalMeacham said about feeling things in other body parts, other people cough when they clean their ears, right? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/12 "2011-08-09T05:57:26Z")
> [@squidfood](#): > > Not a thrill, a cringe… it’s an awful feeling for me - sharp pain/slight tingling numbness. Ugh. > > And I hereby cancel out voltaire’s data point; I’m circumcised and I’ve got it. Always wondered what caused it so hoping some obscure answer comes along here. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/13 "2011-08-09T20:30:39Z")
Previous thread on this topic [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=409320&highlight=navel](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=409320&highlight=navel) ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/14 "2011-08-09T21:50:35Z")
Cut, and I feel it. I find it unpleasant, though my wife seems to find it amusing to poke me. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/15 "2011-08-09T21:56:09Z")
Good grief, I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s experienced this. I mentioned it to a friend once and he thought I was insane. It’s kinda painful and tingly, and not at all pleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/16 "2011-08-10T03:54:01Z")
I made the mistake of telling my husband about this thread _before_ testing the theory… now he won’t let me near his navel to see if it’s true for him. I (a woman) have experienced deferred sensation. When someone touches the bottom of my foot in a certain way, I feel it in my spine. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/17 "2011-08-10T04:53:09Z")
As I said above, I don’t experience this phenomenon. But I just thought of something that made me curious. If you put an ice cube in you navel, do your genitals feel the cold? Someone do it for science! ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/18 "2011-08-10T11:11:31Z")
I get this too. I think SeaDragonTattoo best described the sensation in my penis. This entitles her to some kind of perception award, I think. Circumcised, and my navel is an “inny”. ---
**Author:** ![diegojones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@diegojones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diegojones)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/19 "2011-08-10T23:29:59Z")
Thanks Rainy! ---
**Author:** ![Bosstrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Bosstrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstrain)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005/20 "2011-08-11T00:00:25Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Maybe try cleaning it with your finger instead of your penis? 😛 I knew I was doing something wrong, but I thought that’s what it was for! 😃 Joking aside, I’ve actually experienced this before myself (not that I regularly poke around in my BB to see if my dick tingles :dubious:), and yes I believe it’s most likely nerve endings that are connected. In my case the feeling is very mild, almost arousing (though I’ve never been aroused by it), if it hurts though, I’d suggest not telling anyone close to you, especially not a GF or spouse (oops, some of you already did didn’t you, why am I always late with this advice, dagnabit!) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belly-button-and-penis/592005.md?page=2)