• Question: Why do we always get pruny or slogged fingers while we stay in the bath for too long?

    Asked by to Ian, Mathew, Naomi on 26 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Naomi Osborne

      Naomi Osborne answered on 26 Jun 2014:

      Our skin is always shedding – we lose millions in an hour! Dead cells contain a protein called keratin which absorbs water and we have more dead cells in our fingers and toes that absorb more water than the rest of our body.

      But it’s also down to blood vessels restricting under the skin, reducing the volume and causing wrinkling. This is a recent finding by scientists who think this may be something we evolved to help our ancestors pick up things under water – apparently a wrinkly hand provides more grip!

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