Table salt for treatment of umbilical granuloma in infants: A report on two cases

Abstract

Umbilical granulomas are among the most common neonatal umbilical abnormalities, often triggering concern in parents despite their benign nature. They result from excess granulation tissue that fails to epithelialize properly after the umbilical cord falls off. Standard treatments such as silver nitrate cauterization, while effective, may not always be accessible or acceptable due to associated risks, costs, or parental concerns. This report presents two cases of infants with persistent umbilical granulomas that responded successfully to table salt application following unsuccessful or impractical conventional interventions. The treatment led to rapid lesion resolution within a few days, without adverse effects. Differential diagnoses such as umbilical polyps and patent urachus were clinically ruled out. This case report underscores table salt as a feasible and cost-effective therapeutic option, especially in resource-constrained environments. Nevertheless, findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the small sample size.