psoriasis

Psoriasis is a long-lasting, noncontagious autoimmune disease characterized by patches of abnormal skin. These areas are red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly. Psoriasis varies in severity from small localized patches to complete body coverage. Injury to the skin can trigger psoriatic skin changes at that spot, which is known as the Koebner phenomenon.

AI overview

Psoriasis is a long-term autoimmune condition that causes patches of abnormal skin—typically red, pink, or purple, dry, itchy, and scaly—and is not contagious. It matters because it can range from affecting small areas to covering the entire body, and skin injuries can trigger new psoriatic patches to develop.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Medical condition.name: Psoriasis
Medical condition.image: Psoriasis on back1.jpg
Medical condition.caption: Back and arms of a person with severe psoriasis
Medical condition.specialty: Dermatology, immunology, rheumatology
Medical condition.symptoms: Red (purple on darker skin), itchy, scaly patches of skin
Medical condition.complications: Psoriatic arthritis
Medical condition.onset: Adulthood
Medical condition.duration: Long-term
Medical condition.causes: Genetic disease triggered by environmental factors
Medical condition.diagnosis: Based on symptoms
Medical condition.treatment: Steroid creams, vitamin D3 cream, ultraviolet light, immunosuppressive drugs such as methotrexate and biologics
Medical condition.frequency: 79.7 million / 2–4%

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

75,122 papers

Childhood psoriasis.ReviewEuropean journal of dermatology : EJD · 2016Mahé EDOI: 10.1684/ejd.2016.2932
Challenge of Nail Psoriasis: An Update Review.ReviewClinical reviews in allergy & immunology · 2021Ji C, Wang H, Bao C et al.DOI: 10.1007/s12016-021-08896-9
What is Psoriasis?ReviewPediatric dermatology · 2025DOI: 10.1111/pde.16031
Psoriasis and Papulosquamous Disorders.ReviewPrimary care · 2025Helm MF, Clebak KT, Critchfield L et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.pop.2025.05.007
Psoriasis.ReviewDisease-a-month : DM · 1973Baden HP, Pugliese MM
Homocysteine and psoriasis.ReviewBioscience reports · 2019Lin X, Meng X, Song ZDOI: 10.1042/BSR20190867
Psoriasis and Obesity.ReviewDermatology (Basel, Switzerland) · 2016Jensen P, Skov LDOI: 10.1159/000455840
Pustular psoriasis: A distinct aetiopathogenic and clinical entity.ReviewIndian journal of dermatology, venereology and leprology · 2023Vasudevan B, Das P, Bhatt SDOI: 10.25259/IJDVL_542_2022

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image: Psoriasis on back.jpg

Show 5 more facts

Commons category: Psoriasis
NCI Thesaurus ID: C3346
ICPC 2 ID: S91
exact match: identifiers.org/doid/DOID:8893
WordLift URL: data.medicalrecords.com/medicalrecords/healthwise/psoriasis

Sources (10)

via Wikidata · CC0

~52 min read

Article

46 sections

Contents

Signs and symptoms
Plaque psoriasis
Other forms
Pustular psoriasis
Inverse psoriasis
Napkin psoriasis
Guttate psoriasis
Erythrodermic psoriasis
Mouth
Seborrheic-like psoriasis
Psoriatic arthritis
Nail changes
Medical signs
Causes
Genetics
Lifestyle
HIV
Microbes
Medications
Pathophysiology
Diagnosis
Classification
Morphological
Pathogenetic
Severity
Co-morbidities
Cardiovascular complications
Depression
Type 2 diabetes
Management
Topical agents
UV phototherapy
Systemic agents
Surgery
Diet
Prognosis
Cardiovascular disease
Other diseases
Epidemiology
History
Society and culture
Cost
Research
References
Further reading
External links

The five main types of psoriasis are plaque, guttate, inverse, pustular, and erythrodermic. Plaque psoriasis, also known as psoriasis vulgaris, makes up about 90% of cases. It typically presents as red patches with white scales on top. Areas of the body most commonly affected are the back of the forearms, shins, navel area, and scalp. Guttate psoriasis has drop-shaped lesions. Pustular psoriasis presents as small, noninfectious, pus-filled blisters. Inverse psoriasis forms red patches in skin folds. Erythrodermic psoriasis occurs when the rash becomes very widespread and can develop from any of the other types. Fingernails and toenails are affected in most people with psoriasis at some point in time. This may include pits in the nails or changes in nail color.