This year's Skinnies Awards are now online at skinema.com! The queen of reality shows now has an award to show for it. See all of the awards at skinema.com...
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- Howard as Hilly Holbrook in "The Help" has herpes
- Kim Kardashian's rash: Psoriasis
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- The 2011 Skinnies Awards: Natalie Portman's Stressed Out Skin
Howard as Hilly Holbrook in "The Help" has herpes
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Why is Howard's Hilly so mean? |
Is it because she gets cold sores? |
Otherwise knows as herpes?
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In "The Help," Bryce Dallas Howard plays Hilly Holbrook, this summer's most vindictive villain since Lord Voldemort. As a young socialite in 1960's Jackson Mississippi threatened by the changes coming with the African American civil rights movement, Hilly is not above capriciously firing, slandering and falsely accusing maids that get in her way. She is punished, not just in the form of a culinary surprise, but also skinematically: she has herpes.
To clarify, actress Howard (daughter of Opie Cunningham, otherwise known as actor/director Ron Howard) does not have a chronic viral infection. This prominent cold sore is created via makeup to illustrate her character's moral defects. Often triggered by sun exposure and emotional or physical stress, outbreaks can be painful and decidely un-glamorous. We take issue with the concept that herpes is a marker for evil. This common infection strikes all comers, no matter the direction of their moral compass.
Fortunately, a lot has changed since the early 1960's, not just in the area of civil rights. With the advent of antiviral pills, such as Valtrex (valacyclovir), outbreaks can be quickly treated or suppressed entirely. Yet like human rights, we still have a way to go. Once developed, a vaccination or cure for herpes infections will be as welcome as tasty Southern fried chicken.
More at skinema.com:
Kim Kardashian's rash: Psoriasis
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Kim's reality (show) is rocked by skin spots. What could they be?
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Winner of the midyear Skinnies Award, "Reality TV's Most Real Moment" goes to Kim Kardashian, blind-sided by her diagnosis of psoriasis during an episode of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians." Mystified by an itchy eruption on her trunk and legs, she is told by her sister it might be "ringworm."
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Kim is itching for an answer. |
Her derm makes the call. |
Psoriasis, all right.
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Rather than a fungal infection, her dermatologist provides the accurate diagnosis, psoriasis, a common inflammatory condition. Though not contagious, psoriasis is triggered by genetic signals, and currently there is no cure. Kardashian gets a bit panicky, since her fortune and fame stem from beauty, exhibitionism and product endorsement. Can a skin-challenged Kim still sell Skechers?
Fortunately for Kardashian (and the global economy), her version of this condition is the guttate or "raindrop" pattern of psoriasis. This mildest and most treatable form sometimes results from bacterial infections, such as strep throat. The body's immune reaction to the germ causes the inflammatory lesions to appear on the skin. Guttate psoriasis usually responds to topical prescription cortisones, vitamin D creams and UV phototherapy. Compared to other forms of psoriasis, it is more likely to respond to these treatments and go into remission. So it's unlikely that Kim will end up shilling for psoriasis salves. Or that the show will be renamed "Keeping Up with the Kar-Rashians."
