What is the scientific reason that our hands prune when we are in water for long periods of time?

Answer 1

Actually, though it looks like your skin shrinks to get wrinkly, the opposite is true. Through osmosis, more water goes from the surroundings into your skin cells than the amount of water that goes out of your cells into the surroundings. So your skin actually swells up. The swelling is uneven, so your skin has an uneven wrinkly look.

http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/wrinkly_fingers.html
http://www.nysgjerrigper.no/Artikler/2005/juni/1118929762.3

Answer 2

as according to scientific analyze, the hands are concerning to strategies. strategies has 2 areas/components , acceptable side is applications and guiding and controlling the artwork of the artwork, track, esoteric mysticism , love romance. Left strategies is able to doing Logical mathematical and reasoning artwork. Now Left strategies is linked with acceptable hand and acceptable strategies is linked to left hand. Nature tries to offer balanced capability to the two hands so some distance as outer physique is in contact, yet while it includes strategies capability, maximum of man or woman has one section dominating and one section dormant. however the memory function is merely an gained trait and could be knowledgeable too. Even people who're 'ajanbahus', skill whose finder go the knees fail in memory exams. the real ingredient is that people who've long hands, denotes capability of strategies, now it would desire to be use in any way, even the Goons and criminals have stable and long strategies who keep their dealings and bills by using coronary heart and don't have confidence in the paper artwork.

Answer 3

It's because of osmosis. The cells in your body contain water. During osmosis the water in these cells will move towards the water in the tub because of higher concentrations. This causes the cells to shrink, thus giving a wrinkled look.

Answer 4

From what I understood it was because your body is absorbing the water. When you have absorbed all the water you can is when your hands start looking like a prune =P

Answer 5

Osmosis or distillation, I forgot which one. It when water moves from a lower concentration to a higher concentration, leaving the skin and into the water. Then when you get out, the moisture from the air fills you back up. Try going in a steam room and see what happens. It's pretty even conditions.

Answer 6

Water always moves from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration, so the water enters your skin, and your body swells slightly. The wrinked look comes from the presence of collagen fibers in your skin.

Answer 7

I dont know but I heard it has something to do with mild dehydration. Kinda like your skin gets water-logged or something. And that if you drink a lot of water it wont happen as bad.

Answer 8

This is affecting only tender gentle hands. Real working hands don't get prune, because they have calluses.