The umbilical cord is the link between the baby and the placenta, its method of nutrition until it is born. Once the birth occurs, the cord is cut, if possible, not before 3 minutes, as explained in Babies and more a few days ago.
Once cut they put a beautiful pin and this is how they deliver it to us, with its fresh cord and its clip as a gift bow.
The cord normally falls between the eighth and fifteenth day of life, and once fallen it takes about 3-5 days to heal completely.
Before the question of how the umbilical cord is cured, one would almost have to ask "how milks are cured" (sorry for the milks), because this is a question that nobody knows how to answer for sure and that comes to the head of any parent afterwards to see that many babies are cured in different ways.
Some are cured with alcohol, others with mercromine, others with both, others with nothing ... what are we left in? Well, it seems to be indifferent. The cord will heal most of the time without incident Let's do what we do.
The fact that children who are healing in two different ways arrive at the same primary care center is already significant that there is no quorum in this regard.
The two best-known types of cures are the cure with a gauze soaked in 70º Alcohol and that in which the use of 70º Alcohol is combined with Mercromine.
The cord is a gateway for microorganisms through the vessels it contains, which were the ones that nourished the baby thanks to its link with the maternal placenta. Since bacteria are isolated in the cord, 40 years ago began to cure with antiseptics to avoid possible infections.
The recommended antiseptics for the cure are: - Alcohol of 70ºC: Very accessible and economical. - Mercurochrome (Mercromina): Normally it is used in combination with alcohol. - Chlorhexidine: there are different presentations (0.5% alcoholic or 1% aqueous). It is liquid and does not produce pain or toxicity on contact with the wound. It is the most recommended by the Spanish Association of Pediatrics.
I point out the issue of Mercromine since it has been often commented that it is toxic. In this case, since very little is applied there is no toxicity, although it is a bit "annoying" because of the coloration since it dyes the cord and makes it difficult to appreciate possible anomalous colors.
If someone has wondered why iodine is not on this list (Betadine, Topionic, ...) I refer you to the post a few days ago: Povidone iodine, forbidden aniseptic.
The WHO (World Health Organization) recommends keeping the cord clean and dry, without applying any antiseptic or antibiotic, as its use is not justified and delay the time of cord fall. Not using antiseptics in the cure makes bacterial cord colonization superior, however this does not cause an increased risk of infection.
So, The best cure is to keep the cord clean and dry, but it is a cure that is not such, and given the insecurity of doing practically nothing, many parents who are recommended this type of care end up choosing the option of curing with some antiseptic (which is also not bad ).
