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Why do fingers get wrinkly after a long bath or swim? A biomedical engineer explains
By Guy German, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Guy German, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Skin is an awesome and weird organ. As the body’s biggest organ, it does a lot to look after you, protecting you from the outside world of sunlight, harsh chemicals, nasty germs, and severe cold. And it does all this while keeping water inside your body and enabling the sense of touch.
I’m a biomedical engineer. My research team and I try to better understand the mechanics and function of soft biological tissues.
We know skin wrinkles as you get older or when you pinch it between two fingers. But it’s been somewhat of a mystery why skin gets wrinkly and even sometimes changes color after you take a leisurely bath or spend too long in the swimming pool.
Often people assume that these wrinkles form because the skin absorbs water, which makes it swell up and buckle. To be honest, I did too for a long time.
But researchers back in the 1930s discovered that in people with nerve damage in their fingers, the post-bath wrinkles didn’t form. Wrinkly fingers can’t just be due to water absorption then, or this would be a universal phenomenon, no matter how well your nerves are or aren’t working.
So, if it isn’t swelling due to water, then what is behind pruny fingers and toes after a long swim? Scientists have recently discovered what they think is the answer.
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