The University of Kansas Health System reports a steady number of COVID patients today.18 with the active virus are being treated, the same as yesterday. Eight of those patients are in the ICU, down from nine yesterday. Three are on ventilators, down from four yesterday. 17 other patients are still hospitalized because of COVID but are out of the acute infection phase, down from 19 yesterday. That’s a total of 35 patients, down from 37 yesterday.

On today’s Morning Medical Update, you're taking collagen powder, you use a jade roller, you've even changed your pillowcase, but is it really working or are you just throwing money down the toilet? Dermatologists Anand Rajpara, MD, Chris Tomassian, MD, and plastic surgeon Julie Holding, MD from The University of Kansas Health System help break down some common beauty myths for both women and men.

            Dr. Holding began by showing us a live procedure called HydraFacial, a medical resurfacing treatment that clears out your pores, plus it hydrates your skin. The treatment uses water to gently exfoliate and clear the pores, which is better for the skin than scrubbing. She says the best way to preserve our skin is a healthy diet, stay hydrated, wear a hat outside and use sunscreen. Though the sun has many benefits, she says it can damage the skin, sometimes causing cancer.

            Dr. Rajpara discussed the billion dollar collagen powder industry. He says despite the celebrity endorsements, “It’s pretty far-fetched that a powdered drink does any good. Don’t waste your money.” He says there are two things you can buy over the counter that are proven to boost collagen production in your face. One is retinol and the other is vitamin C serum. He says having an effective anti-aging skincare routine is affordable and easy and recommends starting by visiting a dermatologist or plastic surgeon.

            Dr. Tomassian feels one of the biggest mistakes people make in skin care is “trying to pay your way out of sun protection.” He says people spend a fortune on products and unnecessary procedures. “If you’re going to pay all that money and you’re not protecting yourself from the sun, you’re wasting your money and you’re not going to get the lasting benefit of many of the procedures you’re doing.” He believes too many people think just because something costs a lot of money it has to be better. He says nothing is farther from the truth and some of the best treatments are inexpensive and available at the drugstore.

            Both doctors also addressed some of the most common beauty care myths:

• Collagen supplements. They won’t hurt you, but are unlikely to help.
• Biotin gummies for hair loss. There is zero evidence they actually work.
• Jade rollers and gua sha. They can de- puff your skin and help massage your lymphatics, but will not give you a jawline or a neck lift.
• Popping zits from acne. You want to leave acne alone. Picking or popping zits can leave permanent scars and cause infection.
• Over exfoliating the skin with a rough rag to remove dead skin. It causes micro tears in the skin which can lead to infection. Your skin naturally exfoliates every 28 to 45 days.
• Silk pillowcases that promise to reduce wrinkles. There is no way a silk pillow is going to decrease wrinkles.  

Dana Hawkinson, MD, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control at The University of Kansas Health System, noted that side effects from the Moderna booster, which is half the dose of the original two doses, seem to be reduced. He pointed out that only ten percent of children 5 to 11 in the United States have had their first COVID shot and says it's very important to get that number up, especially with colder weather, reduced masking and the holidays coming up. He says that’s the key to keeping schools open and keeping younger kids from missing class and getting long-COVID symptoms.

            Friday, November 19 at 8:00 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. Our numbers guru is back. Dr. Amber Schmidtke joins us with new data shedding light on what to expect when we look at current vaccination numbers along with the lifting of mask mandates.

NOTE:  Journalists should rejoin the Morning Medical Update at 8am as doctors are growing too busy again for individual interview requests.  Please bring questions or send to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu until further notice.  Thanks for all you do and helping to keep the community safe with your reporting.

ATTENTION: media procedure for calling in:

 The meeting is available by Zoom, both video and by phone. To join the Zoom Meeting by video, click https://kumc-ois.zoom.us/j/7828978628

Telephone dial-in Participants: For those without Zoom, call 1-312-626-6799, meeting ID: 782 897 8628.

The feed is also available via TVU grid. The TVU source is UoK_Health and is being made available to all.

Feel free to send questions in advance to medicalnewsnetwork@kumc.edu.