Quick Links
Resources
About MyPsoriasisTeam
Powered By
Up to two-thirds of people living with psoriasis develop symptoms in the genital area, but many hesitate to discuss it.1 “I don’t think we talk enough about genital psoriasis … and how you can be timid talking to your doctor about that,” Takieyah Mathis said. Takieyah is an author and a speaker who shares her experiences with psoriasis to help others. She joined actor, social media influencer, and psoriasis advocate Zailee Madrigal to compare notes on having psoriasis in high-impact areas like the genitals, buttocks, and scalp.
Psoriasis in Sensitive Areas: Insights From People Who Get It
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:04
Takieyah Mathis
I don't think we talked enough about genital psoriasis and how that affects people and how you can be timid on talking to your doctor about that. Some people don't understand what it's like to just having random rashes, especially if you get them on your butt and things like that. I used to tell my friends, I am not coming out the house with an itchy butt. I will stay home. So...
Zailee Madrigal
(laughing)
00:00:21:06 - 00:00:40:05
Zailee Madrigal
Right now, actually my scalp is really bad, and I noticed, like, yeah, last night my fiancé got close to me, and he wanted to hug me, and I go into immediate... I think we all know-
Takieyah Mathis
Yeah Yeah.
Zailee Madrigal
...the feeling where you get scared and you get anxiety, cause you're like he could probably see all the flakes, and if I do one little itch like this,
00:00:40:07 - 00:01:01:01
Zailee Madrigal
it's like you get a whole snowflake. (laughing)
Takieyah Mathis
Yeah.
Zailee Madrigal
Are there any treatments that help make psoriasis a bit more manageable for you?
Takieyah Mathis
So for my high impact areas, I did really need a strong medicine, and so I will say the biologics that I had to take, those injectables, they really helped me a lot because there was no cream that could help me.
00:01:01:03 - 00:01:22:16
Zailee Madrigal
That happened to me! Basically when I came back the second time and I told him, “This is not working. My symptoms are still just as bad. The topicals are not doing anything.” I got some steroid creams, but it wasn't doing anything specifically on my scalp. So that's when I got referred. I sounded confident with, you know what? I was at my last straw. Like no, there's more to this.
00:01:22:16 - 00:01:42:21
Zailee Madrigal
I need special care for this or get sent to the dermatologist and really dig in and see what's going on. I think it's great that there is many different treatment plans now that are accessible and available to us that weren't, when we got diagnosed, right, when you were 17, I was 17. So I think it's pretty cool where the help for psoriasis is going in regards to treatment.
00:01:42:23 - 00:02:05:19
Zailee Madrigal
So Takieyah, how did you have that conversation with your doctors with having psoriasis in high impact areas like our private or places that are private to us?
Takieyah Mathis
Yeah, so having a really good care team is really important. We talk about all the time advocating for yourself. Don't settle for less. I've never went into an appointment where I didn't have at least three questions to ask.
00:02:05:21 - 00:02:25:17
Takieyah Mathis
You know what I mean? So always go in there and even if you looked it up on Google, ask your doctor.
Zailee Madrigal
That's a really good advice.
Takieyah Mathis
I always brag about my doctor. Me and her are like this, it doesn't matter what we need to talk about.
Zailee Madrigal
Mmm, hmm.
Takieyah Mathis
I ask her about it and if she doesn't know, she’ll honestly say, “Hey, I did not realize that this was a connection,” and we'll go over different things.
00:02:25:17 - 00:02:41:03
Takieyah Mathis
Speaking up for yourself makes an impact on the doctor as well, like, “Hey, this person is teaching me something that I need to know for my other patients.” And my doctor even telling me one day, we need more people like you that are willing to speak up and ask us questions because everything about psoriasis is not in the books that we study from, so.
00:02:41:04 - 00:02:52:19
Zailee Madrigal
Wow, that's valuable. That's really valuable.
Takieyah Mathis
Learn more and connect at MyPsoriasisTeam.com.
‘I Will Stay Home’ “Some people don’t understand what it’s like to just have these random rashes, especially if you get them on your butt and things like that,” Takieyah shared. “I used to tell my friends, ‘I am not coming out of the house with an itchy butt.’”
Zailee can relate to wanting to keep to yourself when your psoriasis is flaring in a high-impact area: “Right now, my scalp is really bad. Last night my fiance got close to me and he wanted to hug me. I think we all know that feeling where you get scared and you get anxiety — he could probably see all the flakes.”
Takieyah and Zailee aren’t alone in their concerns. Researchers have found that people who have psoriasis in places like the groin and scalp are more likely to avoid social activities.2
Psoriasis that affects a private part of the body can feel daunting. “Who do you go and talk to? Like, ‘Hey, I have this rash in this area, and I don’t know what it is,’” Takieyah said.
People with genital psoriasis often feel embarrassed about discussing their symptoms with a dermatologist, which can delay getting the right diagnosis and treatment. They might instead talk to their gynecologist or primary care doctor, who may mistake genital psoriasis for a sexually transmitted infection or another type of infection.3
If you have symptoms on your genitals or buttocks, don’t hesitate to speak with your dermatologist. You are not alone with these symptoms, and there are treatments that can help you.
“Speaking up for yourself makes an impact on the doctor as well.”
— Takieyah Mathis
‘I Was at My Last Straw’ “For my high-impact areas, I did really need a strong medicine,” Takieyah said. After first trying various topical treatments and oral drugs, Takieyah started a biologic medication.
Zailee also started by applying topicals. “My symptoms are still just as bad — the topicals are not doing anything for me,” she told her doctor. That point was the “last straw,” she recalled. Zailee was referred to a dermatologist, who was able to “really dig in and see what’s going on.”
Takieyah and Zailee had to advocate for themselves to get the relief they needed from their symptoms. “Don’t settle for less,” Takieyah urged. “Be persistent and just say, ‘No, there’s something more here. What can we do to truly figure out what’s wrong?’” Zailee echoed.
Takieyah said she always goes into her appointments with “at least three questions” for her doctor. “Even if you looked it up on Google, ask your doctor,” she encouraged.
“Speaking up for yourself makes an impact on the doctor as well,” Takieyah emphasized. She shared that she sometimes asks questions or relays experiences that surprise her rheumatologist, who treats her psoriatic arthritis. “My doctor even told me one day, ‘We need more people like you that are willing to speak up and ask us questions, because everything about psoriasis is not in the books that we study from.’”
ABBV-US-02000-MC V1.0 Approved 6/2025
Rosie D. Lyles, M.D., M.H.A., M.S.
is the medical director of U.S. Medical Affairs at AbbVie.
Learn more about her here.
Alison Channon
has nearly a decade of experience writing about chronic health conditions, mental health, and women's health.
Learn more about her here.
Get updates directly to your inbox.
Sign up for free!
Become a member to get even more
Join
Your privacy is our priority.
We'd love to hear from you! Please share your name and email to post and read comments.
You'll also get the latest articles directly to your inbox.