Symptoms:

Symptoms include itching and spots on the skin, called skin lesions, which are pinkish-red and look like teardrops. The spots may be covered with silver, flaky skin called scales.

The spots usually occur on the arms, legs, and middle of the body (the trunk), but may appear in other body areas.

Signs and tests:

Your doctor will look at your skin. Diagnosis is usually based on what the spots look like.

Often, a person with this type of psoriasis has recently had a sore throat or upper respiratory infection.

Tests to confirm the diagnosis include:

• Throat culture
• Skin biopsy