When your hands or feet are in water for a long time, your skin may start to become wrinkled or pruned.
For the most part, pruning skin isn’t something to worry about. Your skin will typically return to its usual state after a short while.
However, if your fingers or toes prune without being in the water, you may want to speak with a healthcare professional. Pruning skin may be a symptom of an underlying medical condition
Several reasons your skin may prune include:
Vasoconstriction
Healthcare professionals used to think that your skin wrinkled or pruned after getting wet because it was absorbing water.
However, we now know that this isn’t the case. Instead, pruning is caused by a process called vasoconstriction.
Vasoconstriction happens when the blood vessels under your skin contract. This causes the skin to look wrinkly and resemble a prune.
There is no concrete evidence to explain why this happens. However, an older 2013 study suggests that you’re better able to grip wet objects, like a slippery bar of soap, when your fingers are wrinkled.
Dehydration
Dehydration can occur when you haven’t had enough water. This can cause your skin to lose its flexibility and look wrinkled.
Older adults are at an increased risk for dehydration, which is why their skin may be more likely to appear wrinkly.
Besides pruning, other symptoms of dehydration include:
- dry mouth and lips
- headaches
- dark yellow urine or not urinating enough
- dizziness
- irritation
It can be beneficial to drink plenty of water and consume electrolytes to treat or prevent dehydration. This can be especially helpful if it’s hot outside or you’ve been doing any sort of physical activity.
Thyroid disorders
Thyroid disorders can also cause pruney fingers. This is because the thyroid plays a role in your body’s temperature and metabolism.
If your body temperature is lower than usual, your blood vessels will likely contract to make sure you don’t lose any more heat.
Thyroid disorders have other symptoms besides dry, wrinkly skin. These depend on the type of thyroid disorder and can include:
- fatigue (low energy)
- thinning or brittle hair
- unexplained weight changes
- cold or heat sensitivity
You can generally manage thyroid disorders with medications such as methimazole (Northyx) and propylthiouracil (Propycil).
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