Psoriasis on the Butt

Overview

Psoriasis is a chronic disease that is caused by an overactive immune system and is associated with inflammation throughout the body. Symptoms may resolve and recur throughout a person's life.

Symptoms

Inverse psoriasis and plaque psoriasis are two common types of psoriasis that you may experience on the buttocks.

Inverse psoriasis usually occurs in body folds such as the underarms, under breasts, in the gluteal cleft, and the area between where the legs meet the buttocks. Symptoms include red or discolored skin that is smooth (not scaly) and may look tight. On skin of color, inverse psoriasis can look purple, brown, or darker than the surrounding skin. You may experience discomfort, pain, severe itching, and splitting of the skin. Inverse psoriasis may be worsened by sweat and rubbing in the body fold areas.

Plaque psoriasis often occurs on the scalp, knees, elbows, and torso, but can also appear on the butt. For Caucasian skin, plaques can look red, with silvery, white buildup of dead skin cells. For skin of color, the discoloration may be darker and may look purple, gray, or dark brown. Some people experience discomfort, pain, itching, and cracking of the skin.

Causes & Triggers

The cause of psoriasis is not fully understood. Psoriasis plaques occur because the overactive immune system speeds up skin cell growth. Normal skin cells completely grow and shed (fall off) in a month. With psoriasis, skin cells do this in only three or four days. Instead of shedding, the skin cells pile up on the surface of the skin.

Inflammation caused by psoriasis can impact other organs and tissues in the body. People with psoriasis may also experience related health conditions. One in three people with psoriasis may also develop psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriasis on the butt can be triggered by the same factors as other types of psoriasis. Common psoriasis triggers include:

Stress
Certain medications
Smoking tobacco
Alcohol
Injuries or trauma to the skin
Illness, such as infections
Changes in weather
Diet

Learn more about triggers and flares by downloading your free Flare Guide and Symptom Tracker.

Diagnosis

A health care provider will take several factors into consideration when making a diagnosis for psoriasis, including:

The appearance of the skin. Different types of psoriasis have different appearances.
The location of psoriasis. Certain types of psoriasis are more common in certain locations.
Itch of the skin. This is a common symptom of psoriasis.
A skin biopsy (the removal of a small piece of skin to be looked at under a microscope). A biopsy may also be done to determine if it is psoriasis or another skin condition.

Treatment & Management

Although there is no cure, there are more effective psoriasis treatments today than ever before. Treating psoriasis can help improve symptoms as well as lower the risk of developing psoriasis comorbidities such as psoriatic arthritis, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and depression.

Treatments for psoriasis include:

Topicals, including over-the-counter topicals, topical steroids, and topical non-steroids
Phototherapy
Systemics, including oral, biologic, and biosimilar treatments

Prevention

There is no known way to prevent the onset of psoriasis, however, there are many ways that you can manage your triggers to reduce flares.

Outlook/Prognosis

Psoriatic disease is lifelong, and symptoms may resolve and recur throughout the lifetime.

While there is no cure for psoriasis, treatments today are more effective than ever before and research into new treatments, as well as a cure, is ongoing. Treating psoriasis can help improve symptoms and may decrease the associated inflammation that can lead to psoriasis comorbidities such as psoriatic arthritis, heart disease, and depression.

Why treat psoriasis