The Role of Hyaluronic Acid in Skin Treatment during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 global pandemic has now risen as a public concern. Sunbathing is believed can kill the coronavirus. Sun ray is important in the metabolism of vitamin D that plays a significant role in the immune system. In order to increase their immunity, people are risking themselves to sunbathing without any knowledge about skin damage as the consequence. The effects of sunlight on the skin are very influential and estimated to account for up to 90% of visible skin aging. Direct sunlight exposure for long period may lead to premature skin aging, the so called photoaging. The phenotypic signs seen in aging are caused by changes in the loss of hyaluronic acid (HA) and collagen, which are part of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the skin. Losing HA will lead to ECM degradation with wrinkles as one of its manifestation. HA has been believed to be one of the solutions to improve skin aging, especially to treat wrinkles due to photoaging. HA can also increase skin hydration and has antioxidant effects. This review will discuss how to treat skin aging in the pandemic era by using HA as an alternative and efficient treatment. Furthermore, the correlation among skin aging, vitamin D, and COVID-19 phenomenon will be described.