Skinema, dermatology in the media blog

Amy Winehouse Skin Infection: The 2009 Skinnies Awards

This year's Skinnies Awards are now online at skinema.com! The controversial Brit singer Amy Winehouse is recognized as part of the "Skin-Enemy" award: The Staph bacteria that likely caused her facial skin infection. See all of the awards at skinema.com...

Does Amy Winehouse have a Staph Aureus infection?

British singer Amy Winehouse had a swollen cheek...	...and crusting consistent with a bacterial infection.

Buzzing bloggers banter about blue singer's bacterial burden. The internet went mad for R & B chanteuse Amy Winehouse's appearance with a left cheek as swollen as her beehive hairdo. While some surmised trauma, the official word was that she had developed "impetigo," a type of contagious bacterial infection. The most common cause of impetigo is strep bacteria. Dried, yellow, and flaking, the appearance of the disease is often described as "honey crusted." While it is certainly possible that Winehouse is fending off a routine case of skin strep, certain aspects are not typical. Usually strep impetigo is seen in children, who are still developing a mature immune system. The affected area may be red and tender but not usually swollen.

The appearance of Winehouse's markedly bloated cheek raises the possibility of an infection with Strep's sinister cousin, Staph Aureus. This pesky pest tends to cause more swelling and blistering than strep, and commonly affects adults. Certain strains, known as MRSA (Methicillin resistant Staph Aureus) have developed a resistance to certain antibiotics and can be particularly hard to clear. Infection sites can be swabbed and the bacterial culprit identified. Along with the appropriate antibiotic pill, surgical drainage of the swollen area may be necessary. We assume that Amy will be more open to antibacterial treatments then she has been about rehab.

2008 Skinnies Awards: Britney Spears Life Achievement Award

For Britney's acne, hair issues and lip enhancement, she's earned the Life Achievement Award.

More at: www.skinema.com.

2008 Skinnies Awards: Miley Cyrus' facial scar

The teen superstar wins the Vanishing Act award for her forehead scar. The mark vanishes when she dons her blond Hannah Montana wig.

More at: www.skinema.com.

Britney Spears sheared

Britney Spears gets a clean shave.	Showing her scalp like Sinead...	...Joan Jett...	...Erykah Badu...	And cancer survivor Melissa Etheridge.

After winning a coveted "Skinnies Award" for getting too much sun, pop sensation Britney Spears felt she had too much of something else: her hair. Opting for an extremely surprising extreme makeover, Spears sheared herself bald in what some cable pundits think is a sign of mental instability. Yet Spears is not the first high profile chanteuse to go hairless. Irish siren Sinead O'Conner has appeared shaved and sultry for most of her career. Rocker Joan Jett tried the cue ball look when she starred in a theater version of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Soul sister Erykah Badu has been seen hair-free on tour starting in 2001, stating that she wanted to “make room for new things.” It is possible that there may have been a medical reason for Badu's hair loss, such as overtreatment of hair or alopecia areata. Finally, Melissa Etheridge proudly displayed her pate while battling breast cancer. So will Britney establish baldness as a new fashion trend? Since most women prize their locks as a sign of health and beauty, it seems unlikely that impressionable teens will start shaving their scalps. Spears has since been seen sporting a blond wig, so we doubt the "Oops, I did it again" girl will cut her hair in the future.

Ace Young sings about his scar

Ace has more up his sleeve than a soulful singing voice.	His passion is reflected...	...by a signature scar.

No one wants defective skin. Movie actors are constantly concealing signs of injury, like the scars from Catherine Zeta-Jones' tracheotomy and Sharon Stone's riding accident. But musicians? They seem to wear their scars like badges of honor. Singer Seal makes no effort to hide his cheek scars. Despite rumors, these are due to discoid lupus in remission, not from some African tribal rite.

So "American Idol" wannabe Ace Young is just going old school by drawing attention to his chest scar, which he reports is due to a childhood injury. Is this pretty boy looking for street cred? Or just an excuse to flash his pecs for adolescent female fans? On this show, revealing imperfect skin doesn't seem to hurt one's chances. Last season, contestant Anthony Federov routinely exposed his neck scar and he made it as far as the final four.

Paula Abdul's abscess

"American Idol" fans are aflutter over the news flash that judge Paula Abdul has been fighting a festering finger nail infection. Abdul has actually testified to a government panel about what one reporter has called a "flesh-eating fungus." We saw flesh-eating bacteria in "Requiem for a Dream" and there was a case of a flesh-eating virus in the horror flick, "Cabin Fever." But flesh eating fungus? Actually, this phrase is merely the writer's invention, a description as over the top as Abdul's relentlessly positive compliments during "Idol" performances. No, the appropriate name for the ongoing swollen infection that Abdul described is "paronychia." Whether due to bacteria or yeast, this pesky problem can be as naggingly chronic as William Hung's singing career, and almost as painful. While Abdul is convinced that she caught the infection at a nail salon, many develop this problem merely by removal of the cuticle, the firm tissue that attaches the overlying skin to the nail itself. Without this seal, germs collect around the nail and the inflammation ignites. Moisturizers, and topical antibiotic and anti-yeast creams can restore the seal and kick the infection. Now if fellow judge Randy Jackson would just stop saying "dude"...

P.S. A special skinema award to any of you out there who can forward an image of Abdul wearing the thumb bandage that she sported during the last few episodes of this season's "AI."

Billy Corgan--red handed and proud

The man behind "Smashing Pumpkins" has a new CD, "TheFutureEmbrace" (sic), and it is sure to make fans curious. The bewildered expressions usually elicited by Corgan's obtuse lyrics now occur with just a glance at the CD's front cover. Corgan, already a role model for the prematurely bald among us, also shows a rarer condition. Note the purple red areas of Corgan's left hand: the diagnostic signs of Klippel-Trenauney syndrome (KTS). Corgan has a large port wine stain birthmark affecting one limb. While Martin has physical impairment associated with his mark and mounted a controversial legal battle to use a golf cart on the PGA tour, Corgan's guitar rocks without signs of disability. Clearly, Corgan doesn't hide his arm and scalp conditions, he Embraces them.

The mark of an "American Idol"

Singer Anthony Federov has that star quality.	Close inspection reveals:	A quality scar to match.

Most people, if unlucky enough to become scarred, will make every attempt to hide the defect. "American Idol" contestant Anthony Federov seems to be the exception to this rule. He told the show's judges that he underwent a tracheotomy procedure as a three-year-old. He says his family was told that he might never sing. Yet each week Federov hits a piercing high note that has pre-teen fans swooning. Perhaps as a medal of his survivor status, Federov boldly wears unbuttoned shirts to reveal his neck scar. This display differs from the actions of film phenom Catherine Zeta Jones, who tends to hide her trach scar under necklaces and collars.