a.. From the Iranian medical journal a.. "ABSTRACT Umbilical granuloma (UG) is a common lesion in the first few weeks of life. Its traditional therapy is topical application of silver nitrate stick. In this article the curative effect of common salt on UG is reported. The parents of fifty-eight infants with UG, were given instruction to treat their infant at home. The treatment consisted of application of common salt on the lesion twice a day, washed half hour later and repeated for three days. Fifty-two out of 58 cases had perfect cure after the three-day course of treatment. Relapses or complications were none. Six of the patients were lost to follow up. It is concluded that treatment of UG with common salt is simple, cost-effective, curative and safe. " >From MustForMoms.com (India) "The standard practice is to touch it with a silver nitrate stick to dry it. But a simple method propagated by Dr. Nirmala Kesree and her colleagues from Davangare, in Karnataka works quite well. Just put a crystal of rock salt (cleaned with boiled and cooled water and dried) on the swelling. Keep it in place with leucoplast or a band- aid. The swelling disappears within a few days in most cases." and from Israel:from (www.aafp.org) "I would add a resource1 to his armamentarium that praises the curative effect of common salt on umbilical granuloma. This article1 states that the high concentration of sodium ion in the area draws water out of the cells and results in shrinkage and necrosis of the wet granulomatous tissue." BARUCH KLIN, M.D. Assaf Harofeh Medical Center Tel Aviv University"