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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."
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Travolta hairless in "Paris"
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Blowdried in "Fever"
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Dreadful dreadlocks in "Earth"
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John Travolta, known to take risky movie roles, makes one of his most courageous decisions yet as a rogue agent in "To Paris With Love." As Charlie Wax, Travolta appears to have waxed (or at least shaven) off his scalp hair. The man who wowed the disco crowd with his "Saturday Night Fever" mop top opts instead for a scalp as reflective as a mirrored disco ball. Unlike Bruce Willis, who is actually tress-less, Travolta still has a full head of hair. Many men pop a pill of Propecia each day to retain a scalp with the strength of Samson. Travolta proves that a movie star can still be compelling looking like a cue ball. In fact, given the poor reviews his dreadlock festooned alien received in "Battleship Earth," maybe bald is the new hairy.
