This healthy 6-month-old boy developed a foul smelling seropurulent discharge from the unbilicus associated with erythema, surrounding crusting and dermatitis changes. The child was itchy but otherwise well and the eruption cleared with hydrogen peroxide soaks, vaseline, and a week of low potency topical steroid application. There was no history of anatomic structural defects of the umbical cord, omphalitis in the newborn period, chorioamnionitis, or a delay in separation of the umbilical cord from the umbilical stump. In the newborn omphalitis can be a harbinger of cellulitis and sepsis, but in older infants and young children this condition is usually self limited and responds to local care.
