Inverse psoriasis under breasts? Anyone with knowledge of it?

I'm hoping for a bit of help on the psoriasis front, please. I've developed a weird rash under my breasts (sorry male readers) that has been a bear to get rid of. It started out during the extreme heat. I work delivering meals and was sweating a lot in the area in question. I noticed a red rash under the breasts and ignored it for a few days until one day when I took off my bra and noticed that it was an angry red and also stinging like it was infected (it wasn't.) Doctor said it was a yeast infection and gave me a medicated powder which did help to calm it all down. I had to go braless for several weeks. BUT as soon as I wore a bra again, BOOM! it came right back, red and sore as ever. So again I powdered it, then put the bra back on several weeks later, and once again the rash popped back up. It looks like inverse psoriasis to me, not a yeast infection, but I'm not a doctor.

My question is this: does this pattern of the rash improving and then getting nasty again when rubbed against by a bra fit with inverse psoriasis? The rash seems to be red and puffy, solid without any dots. Sore when rashy but painless when not wearing a bra and using the medicated powder. Itchy before I started the medicated powder.

It's really bugging me that I can't shake this rash.

Does this sound anything like inverse psoriasis as you've experienced it? Maybe it's not; I'm hoping it's not. But it sure does look like the pics of it, NOT the pics of a yeast infection.

Thanks in advance!!

Itchy, sore, inflamed … I know the feeling, but I don’t know if it’s inverse psoriasis. I wouldn’t trust a GP on that one either, sorry to say. Several years back, I had something like this, as they say, “where the sun don’t shine”. GP gave me creams, which helped a bit, maybe, but whatever it was would keep coming back. Because it takes ages to see a dermatologist, GP sent me to the local general surgeon, who had a reputation as being a good medical resource person. He declared it to be a “hygiene problem”. ROFL. Eventually it went away, whether because of what I did or what I didn’t do, or maybe it just went away on its own. It was at the same time that I had toenail “fungus”, which I now know was psoriasis.
In retrospect (after the dermatologist diagnosed me and asked whether I’d ever had a rash in my “butt crack” (her words), I think it was inverse psoriasis.
If it is psoriasis, that’s important to your diagnosis. I think you’d better get yourself a date with a dermie. Don’t you?
Seenie

I have always gone braless, so never have had the problem but without a culture there is NO way of knowing. Almost all Rx creams have a some steroid in them which treats the psoriaisis.

I went five years believing the patch on my knee was an "infection" because it responded to the 48.00/tube cream. The 10.00 high concentration steroid cream from the Dermi cleared it up in days......

I have the inverse psorasis as well as the plaque and I use Destin for it. It has zinc in it and zinc is good for the skin. The derm told me to use this first because I was on so many other onintments that she did not want me to have to spend any other money if I did not have to. It keeps it at bay and hopefully with the enbrel that I started two weeks ago it will help.

When I had the mystery rash down there, cortisone cream was the only thing that gave relief. Have you tried cortisone cream?

I have inverse P and plaque. Humira keeps it under control. Inverse can look quite shiny and red .Mine looks like it has been outlined in a deeper red pen when it flares up. I cannot use zinc creams which can be helpful. I use cortisone when it is particularly bad and cornstarch to alieviate rubbing.

Ask to see a derm or can they biopsy Inverse P? I must look this up. good luck

Could also be yeast, or something like athletes foot. My mother deals with this and uses athletes foot medicine which clears it up. Guess your Doctor would know for sure, Pet.

Jot1, thanks for the description of what yours looked like. That's exactly what mine looks like, minus the red outlining.

It seems like seeing a dermie is the next step. I'm glad you guys mentioned it because I was going to just go back to the GP. I know she thought it was a yeast infection but it truly doesn't look like one when I look at the pictures of them.

Thanks for the suggestions. Very helpful.



jot1 said:

I have inverse P and plaque. Humira keeps it under control. Inverse can look quite shiny and red .Mine looks like it has been outlined in a deeper red pen when it flares up. I cannot use zinc creams which can be helpful. I use cortisone when it is particularly bad and cornstarch to alieviate rubbing.

Ask to see a derm or can they biopsy Inverse P? I must look this up. good luck

Oh Gosh, Seenie, the buttcrack must be THE WORST place to develop psoriasis. OMG. I'm so, so sorry. I can't imagine having to deal with itching and soreness there on a continuous basis. But I'm betting that you're right and it was psoriasis, given that you had P on your fingernails at the same time. A little too coincidental for my taste.

Do you have your P under control now?

Seenie said:

Itchy, sore, inflamed ... I know the feeling, but I don't know if it's inverse psoriasis. I wouldn't trust a GP on that one either, sorry to say. Several years back, I had something like this, as they say, "where the sun don't shine". GP gave me creams, which helped a bit, maybe, but whatever it was would keep coming back. Because it takes ages to see a dermatologist, GP sent me to the local general surgeon, who had a reputation as being a good medical resource person. He declared it to be a "hygiene problem". ROFL. Eventually it went away, whether because of what I did or what I didn't do, or maybe it just went away on its own. It was at the same time that I had toenail "fungus", which I now know was psoriasis.
In retrospect (after the dermatologist diagnosed me and asked whether I'd ever had a rash in my "butt crack" (her words), I think it was inverse psoriasis.
If it is psoriasis, that's important to your diagnosis. I think you'd better get yourself a date with a dermie. Don't you?
Seenie

Hi, SK. Yes, that's the sort of medicine that my doctor gave me, in talcum powder form. It certainly helped with the itchiness and soreness and got the rash to go away...until I put the bra back on. Then it broke right out again, looking angry red and smooth. I'm annoyed cause I can't wear a bra and that's embarrassing when delivering meals to old people.

Yes, a dermie sounds like a good place to go next to clear this rash up and be sure of what it is. GREAT if it's just a yeast infection but I'm not sure at all, thanks to seeing the pics of yeast infections.

SK said:

Could also be yeast, or something like athletes foot. My mother deals with this and uses athletes foot medicine which clears it up. Guess your Doctor would know for sure, Pet.


I must say it really annoys me in the summer months when men can run around braless and we can't. It's soooo hot and you guys get to take a break from the heat while we gals suffer in those itchy, hot bras. No fair, wah wah!

Lamb, you always have interesting stories about the past. Five years believing something is an infection is downright amazing. At what point did you realize it was PSA?

You also had an interesting story about your early treatment with PSA - being tied in a bed or something like that. I gotta say, though, if I were a young reader and saw that story, I probably would have headed for the hills and never dealt with the PSA again, LoL!


tntlamb said:

I have always gone braless, so never have had the problem but without a culture there is NO way of knowing. Almost all Rx creams have a some steroid in them which treats the psoriaisis.

I went five years believing the patch on my knee was an "infection" because it responded to the 48.00/tube cream. The 10.00 high concentration steroid cream from the Dermi cleared it up in days......


Oh goodie, that's easy enuff to get hold of! Thanks for the suggestion. It may help until I can have a doc look at it again. I hope it helps you, too, Rebel Mom. Your doc is right, spending that kind of money depletes you fast, so it's nice when you get something affordable for a change. Let me know how you make out.
Rebel mom said:

I have the inverse psorasis as well as the plaque and I use Destin for it. It has zinc in it and zinc is good for the skin. The derm told me to use this first because I was on so many other onintments that she did not want me to have to spend any other money if I did not have to. It keeps it at bay and hopefully with the enbrel that I started two weeks ago it will help.


Nope, my doc gave me a medicated powder that's for athlete's foot. I must admit that I was quite surprised when the rash came back though, which is also what brought PSA to mind, although I guess a yeast infection could also be quite stubborn to treat. I'll ask about the cortisone cream when I go back to the doctor. Thanks!
Seenie said:

When I had the mystery rash down there, cortisone cream was the only thing that gave relief. Have you tried cortisone cream?

Hey I don't make the rules, I've been in favor of you gals going bra-less for years. I encourage such a thing In fact if look at some of those old news films from the 60's and 70's when some gals were burning the things I was the guy standing there with a box of matches always willing and ready to help......

Yeah i was tied in bed, I think they technically called it traction.......
Petunia Girl said:


I must say it really annoys me in the summer months when men can run around braless and we can't. It's soooo hot and you guys get to take a break from the heat while we gals suffer in those itchy, hot bras. No fair, wah wah!

Lamb, you always have interesting stories about the past. Five years believing something is an infection is downright amazing. At what point did you realize it was PSA?

You also had an interesting story about your early treatment with PSA - being tied in a bed or something like that. I gotta say, though, if I were a young reader and saw that story, I probably would have headed for the hills and never dealt with the PSA again, LoL!


tntlamb said:

I have always gone braless, so never have had the problem but without a culture there is NO way of knowing. Almost all Rx creams have a some steroid in them which treats the psoriaisis.

I went five years believing the patch on my knee was an "infection" because it responded to the 48.00/tube cream. The 10.00 high concentration steroid cream from the Dermi cleared it up in days......

I cant help with the Psoriasis part, but you may try picking up a work out tank top with a built in bra, go down a size so its a little more snug for support. The elastic band tends to sit lower on them then a bra would.

I have inverse psoriasis and yes I have it in my "butt crack"! But I have to spill the beans, I think inverse psoriasis itches less. My sister has plaque psoriasis and the itch can drive her wild. Inverse looks and feels more like a burn. Jot1 described it well, the area under the breasts gets red and shiny with a darker red line as a border. Yeast has a less defined border and less rounded. It goes in and out like a map with lots of inlets and peninsulas. I prevent yeast and a flare under the breasts with corn starch and mostly cotton bras in hot weather. To treat once it is "embedded" use Monistat cream (vaginal) or generic. Wash and dry the area well including drying well with a hair drier or fan. Apply the Monistat in a thin layer and dry again with hair dryer or fan. Try to wear a mostly cotton bra or tee shirt. The bras you have been wearing will need to be washed in hot water and dried in the sun to kill the yeast. I hope this helps!

If all else fails put athletes foot med on one side monistat on the other, to rule those out, probably do that for less than $15.

Yes, it wasn’t funny, Petunia! One of the suggestions I got was to stick a piece of toilet paper up there, to keep it dry. Now that was a lot of fun. Since the b-c issue disappeared, my only psoriasis is in the nails. Under control? I don’t think so: since going on MTX, I have it in more nails, and worse, than before. Oh well, I never had any ambitions to be a hand model anyway.
I’m one of the people who was diagnosed with PsA, and only after that discovered that I have psoriasis. (In retrospect, though, the mysterious joint aches and pains started about the same time that I got the so-called fungus. Wish somebody had connected those dots twenty years ago!
Seenie



Petunia Girl said:

Oh Gosh, Seenie, the buttcrack must be THE WORST place to develop psoriasis. OMG. I'm so, so sorry. I can't imagine having to deal with itching and soreness there on a continuous basis. But I'm betting that you're right and it was psoriasis, given that you had P on your fingernails at the same time. A little too coincidental for my taste.

Do you have your P under control now?

Seenie said:

Itchy, sore, inflamed ... I know the feeling, but I don't know if it's inverse psoriasis. I wouldn't trust a GP on that one either, sorry to say. Several years back, I had something like this, as they say, "where the sun don't shine". GP gave me creams, which helped a bit, maybe, but whatever it was would keep coming back. Because it takes ages to see a dermatologist, GP sent me to the local general surgeon, who had a reputation as being a good medical resource person. He declared it to be a "hygiene problem". ROFL. Eventually it went away, whether because of what I did or what I didn't do, or maybe it just went away on its own. It was at the same time that I had toenail "fungus", which I now know was psoriasis.
In retrospect (after the dermatologist diagnosed me and asked whether I'd ever had a rash in my "butt crack" (her words), I think it was inverse psoriasis.
If it is psoriasis, that's important to your diagnosis. I think you'd better get yourself a date with a dermie. Don't you?
Seenie

That's a good idea! Thanks, cause I wouldn't even think of that. I'll see this weekend if I can pick up a few of them.

Shutterbug said:

I cant help with the Psoriasis part, but you may try picking up a work out tank top with a built in bra, go down a size so its a little more snug for support. The elastic band tends to sit lower on them then a bra would.

Yes! Good idea! Excellent thought. I can do that. It'd be nice to figure out which it is. Thanks, Sk!

SK said:

If all else fails put athletes foot med on one side monistat on the other, to rule those out, probably do that for less than $15.