Why do fingers become wrinkles after a long time in water?

Contents:

Medical Video: Why Do We Wrinkle When Wet?

After a leisurely night soak to work out all day or a refreshing weekend swimming session at the pool near home, you may notice that your palms and feet become wrinkled - just like raisins. These wrinkled fingers will not last long, but you wonder why your skin can become wrinkled after lingering in the water?

If the entire body is submerged, why are only the palms and feet wrinkled?

Some researchers argue that the phenomenon of wrinkled fingers is the result of biochemical reactions, the osmotic process in which moving water also attracts a number of compounds from the skin, leaving the layers of skin to dry and wrinkle afterwards.

Human skin is like an iron armor that serves to protect the inside of the body from attacks of germs and bacteria, while keeping body fluids inside. Unfortunately, the skin is not water resistant.

The outermost layer of the skin, the epidermis, is responsible for this shrinkage reaction. The epidermis contains a keratinocyte cell group, a skeleton forming an intracellular skeleton made of keratin protein, which functions to strengthen your skin and keep it moist. These cells then divide rapidly in the lower part of the epidermis, pushing the higher cells upwards. After half the trip, this cell group will then die. Dead keratin cells then create their own epidermal layer, called the stratum corneum.

When hands are immersed in water, keratin absorbs water. However, the inside of the finger does not swell. The dead keratin cells swell and begin to "colonize" the rest of the skin surface, but these cells are still connected to the cells on the inside of the finger that are still alive but are pressed due to swelling. As a result, the layer of the stratum corneum then wrinkles, as well as a skirt that is wrinkled frivolously, to provide a temporary place for this swelling.

Creasing only occurs in the fingers and toes because the epidermal layer on this part of the body has a thicker texture than other body parts - hair and nails also contain different types of keratin that also absorb water, this is the reason why nails become soft after bathing or washing plate.

Wrinkled fingers after lingering in the water is the work of the nervous system, not the influence of water

Quoted from Scientific Americanscientists have discovered that wrinkled fingers after lingering in water are not just simple reflexes or the result of the osmosis process, but rather the role of the nervous system.

The reason, surgeons have revealed that if some of the nerves in the finger are cut or damaged, this wrinkled response will not appear. This shows that changes in this skin condition are forced reactions released by the body's autonomic nervous system - a system that also controls breathing, heart rate, and sweat. In fact, the typical wrinkles that you only find on the palms of your hands and feet are caused by blood vessels that narrow below the surface of the skin.

Wrinkled fingers, according to surgeons, are a sign of a complete nervous system. And sure enough, the wrinkle response seen on each of these finger pads has been used as a method to determine whether the sympathetic nervous system still works well in patients who are declared unresponsive.

Uniquely, wrinkles on the fingers will not appear until about five minutes in continuous water, which means that short and accidental contact with water is not enough to produce wrinkles. Therefore, you never experience fingers that contract when exposed to rain or in a damp and dewy place. Furthermore, wrinkled fingers will occur more quickly in response to fresh water than sea water, which can reflect conditions that might initially develop only in primates.

Finger wrinkles form an adaptation technique?

Besides humans, there is one primate so far that can show a wrinkled finger response after lingering in water: the long-tailed macaque of Makaka (Macaque). The finger shrinkage response shown by the Makaka ape is considered an adaptation technique, which is designed in such a way that these monkeys can hold objects more firmly in dry and wet conditions.

However, to prove whether this response also acts as the same adaptation technique in humans is still a debate. Although there are a number of studies that show that radiant fingers can help humans to grasp more firmly, like Makaka apes, there are also many studies that doubt it. This is due to a research test method that only takes into account the grip on small objects, such as marbles and dice.

A group of researchers from Taiwan, quoted from BBC Future, conducted an experiment comparing the wrinkles and normal fingers on an iron bar, and the results showed no significant difference. In fact, wrinkled fingers show a performance that is not optimal. In addition, Mark Changizi, a neurobiologist at 2AI Labs, argues that behavioral testing like this should be done for the grip of large and heavy objects to prove the benefits of wrinkled fingers in supporting weight support, not fine motor movements such as lifting marbles. According to Changizi, the key to assessing the effects of wrinkled skin is on movement, not agility tests.

It is very difficult to prove the assumption that every biological feature is an adaptation, let alone why it can evolve. However, researchers can look for clues that show that this feature in humans might have evolved as an adaptation technique. Let's wait for the development.

READ ALSO:

  • White water is not only a thirst-releasing drink
  • Have you ever tried greek yogurt hair mask?
  • Try snacking these 5 foods if your skin is dry
Why do fingers become wrinkles after a long time in water?
Rated 4/5 based on 2039 reviews
💖 show ads