#this post is sponsored by my butterfly rash being very visible today

[wheelie-sick]

the butterfly/malar rash 🦋💜

a butterfly rash (also called a malar rash) is an indicator of lupus with approximately half of people with SLE experiencing one. this means that a butterfly rash is not required for a lupus diagnosis. it's a rash that spreads across the cheeks of a person in the shape of butterfly wings. it often will cover the bridge of the nose and occasionally will cover the chin or forehead. a butterfly rash will never occur beneath the folds of a person's nose. butterfly rashes can be scaly and raised or flat.

[he/him only]

[ID: a selfie of a man with a half shaved haircut and glasses. he has a notable butterfly rash on his cheeks.

ID 2: a graphic of a woman with a butterfly rash on her cheeks and the bridge of her nose]

butterfly rashes are typically painless but some people find they itch or burn. anecdotally, they feel warm. butterfly rashes are typically triggered by sun exposure but can occur at any time. some people find that butterfly rashes precede lupus flares.

the butterfly rash is the origin of the name for lupus. the thirteenth-century doctor who named the condition did so because he thought the butterfly rash resembled the markings of a wolf

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