Navigation

Papules, Scales, Plaques and Eruptions

Picture of Guttate Psoriasis

Picture of Guttate Psoriasis

Guttate psoriasis is a type of psoriasis that looks like small, salmon-pink drops on the skin. The word guttate is derived from the Latin word gutta, meaning drop. Usually there is a fine scale on the droplike lesion that is much finer than the scales in plaque psoriasis, the most common type of psoriasis. The trigger to the disease is often a preceding streptococcal (bacterial) infection. The eruption of the lesions on the skin usually happens about two to three weeks after the person has strep throat. The outbreak can go away and not reoccur.

Related Topics
  Psoriasis Slideshow

Reviewed by William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR on December 9, 2009

Image Source: Image courtesy of Hon Pak, M.D. and reprinted with permission from eMedicine.com, 2009

Text: eMedicineHealth: Guttate Psoriasis