Psoriasis in the Belly Button: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment – Healthline

Psoriasis is a condition that causes patches of skin to become inflamed, scaly, and itchy or sore.

Researchers estimate that psoriasis impacts about 3 percent of adults in the United States, which is about 7.5 million people.

Some of the areas most commonly affected by psoriasis can include the elbows, knees, and scalp. However, it can also impact other areas as well, including the belly button.

Keep reading to learn more about psoriasis of the belly button, what it looks like, and how it can be treated.

Plaque psoriasis is the most common type of psoriasis. In this type, defined areas of inflammation called plaques appear on the skin. These areas can be:

While plaques can happen on any area of the body, including the belly button, the most common areas to find them are the:

The belly button is also a rather common area thats affected by a type of psoriasis called inverse psoriasis. This type of psoriasis is sometimes called flexural or intertriginous psoriasis.

Inverse psoriasis happens in and around folds or creases in the skin. In addition to the belly button, other areas where inverse psoriasis often happens are the:

Due to increased moisture in these areas, inverse psoriasis isnt scaly. Affected areas still appear inflamed, but are instead smooth and shiny. The skin is often itchy or sore, which can be further irritated by sweating and friction.

Skin cells are replaced more quickly in people with psoriasis. This causes them to accumulate on the surface of the skin, leading to the symptoms of the condition.

The causes of psoriasis are not entirely understood, but what we know is that the immune system becomes dysfunctional and parts of it do not behave as they should. This means that some immune cells mistakenly attack healthy skin cells. When this happens, the body makes new skin cells more rapidly than usual in order to compensate.

We still dont know what exactly causes the immune system to behave in this way. Psoriasis does run in families, but exactly how genetics plays a role in the development of psoriasis is unclear.

Psoriasis often comes on in response to some sort of trigger. Some examples of psoriasis triggers are injury to the skin, stress, and certain infections.

Its possible that certain combinations of genes may make a person more likely to develop psoriasis after exposure to a psoriasis trigger.

Inverse psoriasis has many of the same triggers as plaque psoriasis. An added trigger is friction on skin folds. As such, this type of psoriasis is more common in people with deep skin folds, including those who are overweight or have obesity.

There are several potential treatment options for psoriasis that affects the belly button. These include both home remedies and medical treatments.

There are a few things at home that you can do to help manage belly button psoriasis. These include:

If you have very mild psoriasis, over-the-counter topical medications may help to manage your symptoms. The active ingredients in these medications include things like hydrocortisone and coal tar.

Medical treatment of psoriasis around the belly button may depend on the type of psoriasis you have, how severe your psoriasis is, and whether the condition involves the joints (psoriatic arthritis). Medical treatments generally fall into three categories:

Sometimes, multiple types of treatment are used for psoriasis. A doctor may start with the mildest treatment and then move on to stronger treatments.

For example, you may start with a topical treatment. However, a systemic treatment like an immunosuppressive drug or biologic may be suggested if the topical treatment isnt effective.

The treatments above are broadly used for psoriasis. However, according to a 2019 research review, treating inverse psoriasis can be a lot different than treating other psoriasis types.

For example, the skin in the areas where inverse psoriasis occurs can be thinner or more sensitive. Its also possible that skin-to-skin contact in the affected areas may interfere with some types of treatment.

The treatment of inverse psoriasis has a heavy focus on topical treatments. The 2019 review notes that systemic treatments havent been robustly evaluated for isolated inverse psoriasis.

However, systemic treatments may be beneficial for some people. This includes people with widespread inverse psoriasis or people for which topical treatment have been ineffective.

There are some conditions that can look like psoriasis on the belly button, but may actually be due to something else. Lets explore these now.

Bacterial skin infections happen when bacteria enter your body through a break in the skin. While a bacterial infection around the belly button can happen to anyone, those with a belly button piercing may be at an increased risk of an infection in this area.

Many bacterial skin infections are caused by a type of bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus. Some strains of this bacteria can be resistant to antibiotics.

In addition to causing skin inflammation, bacterial infections can also be painful, itchy, and warm to the touch. Some may lead to discharge of pus, which can be foul-smelling and yellow or green in color.

Fungal infections can also affect the skin, particularly where two areas of the skin rub together. One reason for this is that heat and moisture can be trapped in these locations, providing fungi with an ideal environment in which to thrive.

Many fungal infections affecting the skin are caused by Candida species. These fungi can also cause infections of the vagina and mouth.

Fungal infections can cause skin inflammation, itching, and pain that may be felt as a burning or prickling sensation. These infections may also appear crusty, smell foul, or leak white discharge.

Eczema, or atopic dermatitis, is a skin condition characterized by inflamed patches of skin that are dry and itchy. Scratching can make eczema worse and can thicken skin in the affected area. Sometimes, eczema can look scaly.

Eczema also affects similar areas to psoriasis, including the elbows, knees, and scalp. However, it may also appear on any area of the body.

Its believed that eczema happens due to a leaky skin barrier. Basically, moisture in the skin leaks out more readily, allowing it to become dry and irritated.

Contact dermatitis happens when something comes into contact with your skin and causes a reaction. Its symptoms are very similar to those of eczema. Some examples of potential triggers of contact dermatitis include:

Seborrheic dermatitis is another type of inflammatory skin condition that happens where there are a lot of oil-producing (sebaceous) glands. It most commonly impacts the scalp, face, and folds in the skin.

In seborrheic dermatitis, the affected skin may be inflamed and swollen. It may also be itchy, greasy in appearance, or have white or yellow scaling.

Scabies are a type of skin infection thats caused by a mite, a type of invertebrate related to ticks. You get scabies through having prolonged skin-to-skin contact with someone who has it.

Scabies can affect any area of the body. The waist- and belt line, which is around your belly button, is one of the commonly impacted sites.

Scabies causes a pimple-like rash to occur. This rash is intensely itchy, especially at night.

Its always a good idea to contact a primary care doctor or dermatologist if you have an itchy rash around your belly button thats:

If youve already been diagnosed with psoriasis, contact your doctor if:

Psoriasis most commonly impacts the elbows, knees, and scalp, but it can also happen around the belly button. While plaque psoriasis can develop at this location, a type of psoriasis called inverse psoriasis also commonly occurs in this area.

Psoriasis is treated with both at-home care and medical treatments. The type of treatment thats recommended will depend on the type of psoriasis you have and how severe it is.

If you notice an itchy rash around your belly button thats persistent, severe, or cant be explained by an existing health condition, see your doctor. If its not caused by psoriasis, it may be due to another condition that needs to be treated.

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Psoriasis in the Belly Button: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment - Healthline