# Medical Question: WARNING- IT'S GROSS **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 22, 2000, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-question-warning-its-gross/42282 "2000-11-22T14:13:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-question-warning-its-gross/42282/1 "2000-11-22T14:13:56Z")
I’ll get right to the point: my navel is leaking. It’s a combination of blood and a clear substance that’s about the consistency of tears. I’m freaking out. Mrs. Rastahomie thinks it’s related to my weight (I’m quite overweight), but I’ve been overweight most of my adult life and I haven’t experienced any dramatic weight gain or loss recently. WTF is going on here? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-question-warning-its-gross/42282/2 "2000-11-22T14:20:56Z")
1. Consult a physician. 2. The navel is a common site for infections from people who clean it with Q-tips. 3. Consult a physician. ---
**Author:** ![BunnyGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@BunnyGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BunnyGirl)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-question-warning-its-gross/42282/3 "2000-11-22T15:18:47Z")
IIRC, your navel still has quite a few blood vessels (from when you were attached by the umbilical cord) quite close to the surface and depending on _how_ overweight you are, the pressure of that weight might be forcing them to rupture ever so slightly. The clear substance you are seeing is probably the serum of the blood?? My WAG. However, do see a physician. This isn’t entirely normal. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-question-warning-its-gross/42282/4 "2000-11-22T15:25:29Z")
Could be a zit. You never know where those things are going to show up. ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-question-warning-its-gross/42282/5 "2000-11-22T15:47:47Z")
It certainly could be a zit. However, it could also be a urachal cyst. I don’t know much about urachal (or “allantoic” cysts) but apparently they can, sometimes, cause significant problems. You should probably get yourself examined by a general surgeon (preferably by an old one who has seen everything before.) ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-question-warning-its-gross/42282/6 "2000-11-22T18:05:01Z")
See a doctor. If you have faith in your family doc, off you go. Otherwise, a general surgeon seems reasonable (a urologist may also be very appropriate depending on what your family doc thinks is going on). ---
**Author:** ![Starbury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Starbury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starbury)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-question-warning-its-gross/42282/7 "2000-11-22T18:09:51Z")
**Rastahomie** , I had a similar experience. I am in pretty good shape, so I don’t think its a weight issue. All I know is I waited about a week or two, and eventually it went away. (IIRC, it happened to me after I had the flu, but I think this was probably just a coincidence) Never went to see a doctor or surgeon. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-question-warning-its-gross/42282/8 "2000-11-22T18:28:22Z")
Starbury: What came out of your navel? Was there blood? BunnyGirl: Rastahomie says “a clear substance that’s about the consistency of tears.” The consistency of tears is about the same as the consistency of water. Serum is thicker than water. rastahomie: The consistency of tears is about the same as the consistency of urine. An interesting experiment would be to eat something (beets?) that would turn your urine a distinctive color and see if the fluid coming out of your navel turned the same color. But I think you really need to see a physician. ---
**Author:** ![Starbury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Starbury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starbury)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-question-warning-its-gross/42282/9 "2000-11-22T18:38:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Yeah \* > \*\*Starbury: What came out of your navel? Was there blood? > \*\* This is probably crossing into the realm of Too Much Information, but essentially the same thing as **rasta** said. There was blood, along with a clear liquid (that was somewhat sticky). ---
**Author:** ![City\_Gent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a87d85/32.png) [@City\_Gent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/City_Gent)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medical-question-warning-its-gross/42282/10 "2000-11-24T01:41:23Z")
My wife, a physician, saw a guy in the ER a couple of nights ago who complained of a leaky scrotum. Turned out it was just an ingrown pubic hair that got inflamed and was exuding a clear liquid. Of note, the guy was quire heavy and in addition had a lot of liquid accumulated in his lower regions (edema). The skin and tissues were kind of “waterlogged”.