Are Your Short Shorts Causing Butt Warts?

10.08.2026, 22:57 allure.com

Ah, summertime. A season of sunshine, half-day Fridays, copious sunscreen application, and a general easy, breezy, blissful feeling. Oh, and sweat, bacne, thigh chafing, and, in some cases, a smattering of pesky little bumps in the area above your upper thigh and below your buttcheeks. What are those, and where did they come from?

Go ahead and blame summer for this not-quite-bum-breakout. In a recent viral video, Kavita Mariwalla, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Long Island, New York, flagged that she’s noticed an uptick in both warts and molluscum—or small, smooth bumps—on that specific area and noted that it could potentially be due to the miniskirts and microshorts frequently worn in the summertime. And according to the dermatologist, she’s seeing “two to three cases per week” in her office, with young people coming in concerned about a bump or bumps on the back of their upper thighs. (Dr. Mariwalla says this crescent-shaped junction is often referred to as the “banana roll.”)

At first, Dr. Mariwalla tells Allure, she thought it was a random one-off case; derms often see molluscum cases in the summer months. (There’s a reason its proper name is molluscum contagiosum; it’s very contagious.) “But as the summer dragged on, I noticed some cases were warts.” As the summer went on, cases continued. She asked around her office and other providers said they, too, were seeing similar bumps near the banana roll region. And thus, a trend—if you can call it that!—was born.

Both warts and molluscum are common skin conditions, explains Dara Spearman, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Molluscum is caused by a virus and spawns the pimple-like bumps. It is typically spread via skin-to-skin contact, sharing personal items like towels, and summer activities like swimming and sports, she explains. Warts, on the other hand, are caused by a virus that gets into the skin via cuts or breaks, and this virus turns into rough bumps on the skin—often on hands or the soles of the feet. Warts, too, are generally spread by time in shared spaces, says Dr. Spearman; pools, locker rooms, and gyms are particular hotspots.

Shorter hemlines may be egging on this summer skin trend, but don’t toss that minidress just yet. This isn’t to shame anyone wearing short shorts or skirts—you should absolutely wear what you feel comfortable in, especially during the hottest days of summer, and you cannot get a skin infection like this from your clothes. “What someone wears does not directly cause molluscum or warts, and wearing short shorts alone does not increase someone’s risk,” says Dr. Spearman.

Instead, it’s the interaction between your skin and the (sticky, steamy) environment around it that can create a breeding ground for these annoying little bumps, says Dr. Mariwalla. “When it is hot and humid, as this summer has been in the Northeast, viruses and bacteria thrive,” she explains. Molluscum is easily spread, and more exposed skin can lead to increased transmission via skin-to-skin contact or contact with high-traffic surfaces like subway and airplane seats, restaurant booths, pool chairs, and all the other spots you spend time on a warm summer day. Plus, she adds, if you’re adjusting your hemline after sitting or while walking, whatever your hands may have come into contact with is then touching your legs.

The best way to protect your skin from warts and molluscum this summer is to be mindful of the surfaces and public spaces around you. “Simple habits like not sharing personal items, covering active bumps, keeping skin clean, and wearing footwear in shared wet areas can help reduce the risk of spreading these infections,” says Dr. Spearman. If you’re wearing a shorter hemline than normal on a particularly sweaty day, maybe skip the subway seat and stand instead, or bring a small towel or scarf to spread out underneath you to protect your buttcheeks!

But as anyone who has dealt with one of these skin conditions will tell you, they can be really hard to get rid of, even with a dermatologist’s assistance. According to Dr. Mariwalla, treatment for molluscum may involve treating the individual lesions with cryotherapy—in layman’s terms, essentially freezing them off—or trying to remove the core of the lesion. “Depending on how many there are—rarely is there only one–you may need multiple trips to the office, and the treatment itself is not exactly pleasant,” she shares. Molluscum lesions may go away on their own, but that can take time, and since they’re so contagious, it’s not a great idea to let them go unchecked.

Warts are like a cousin to molluscum, says Dr. Mariwalla, though they’re not caused by the same virus. However, they can be “equally cumbersome” to remove, especially on hands and feet where skin is thicker. (Ask me about the particularly persistent batch of plantar warts my childhood friends and I kept passing back and forth one summer!) A dermatologist will typically use liquid nitrogen to treat warts, but Dr. Mariwalla says a summer tan can make this process more difficult, since it may cause hyperpigmentation in the treatment area. As an alternative treatment, doctors may prescribe a specific cream that actually causes irritation to the skin, encouraging the immune system to fight said warts. (Your immune system often ignores things like warts and molluscum since they’re harmless, which is in part what makes them so tricky to treat, says Dr. Mariwalla.) Then, of course, there are over-the-counter treatments, which may work for some patients.

If you notice a fresh crop of bumps on your upper thigh after a particularly hot and humid week, it’s a good idea to call up your doctor and get it checked out. And don’t be afraid to protect yourself and your skin from all those sneaky germs lurking around you, hemlines aside. “I’m all for expression of personality through clothes and I never ever want my patients to be shamed for wearing what makes them feel good,” Dr. Mariwalla says. It’s never a bad idea to carry a pack of antibacterial wipes in your summer tote or beach bag and give that bus seat a good wipedown before you sit. “People are often not respectful of public spaces, whether it’s littering or not wiping down [gym] equipment after sweating all over it for the next person,” Dr. Mariwalla says. “I just don’t want to see my patients [dealing with skin issues] because they choose to be in style.”

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