Have you discovered orange gunk or goop in your baby’s diaper?
Is this completely normal or a sign of an infection or other medical condition?
“Newborns may have dark urine that looks thick on the diaper, with a pink or orange tint,” begins Dr. Lisa Lewis, MD, a board certified pediatrician in Fort Worth, Texas, and author of “Feed the Baby Hummus, Pediatrician-Backed Secrets from Cultures Around the World.”
“The ‘orange gunk’ residue is from concentrated urine that has uric acid crystals,” continues Dr. Lewis. “This is a normal process for a newborn to preserve urine.
“When orange or pink urine is noted, the parents should feed the baby more breastmilk or formula to ensure the baby stays well-hydrated.
“If the urine stays orange, pink or dark for more than 24 hours, or is accompanied by any symptoms such as fever or excessive fussiness, this could be a sign of illness.
“In this circumstance, a doctor should be contacted immediately.”
Bladder Cancer
You might already know that bladder cancer can cause blood in the urine, making it appear pink, red, reddish orange or tea colored.
So the sight of orange gunk in a baby’s diaper can be alarming to the parent.
But there is no need to fear that your baby has bladder cancer. Do not get worked up over this.
This is not something you should even lose a minute of sleep over.
