Why Do Our Fingers Get Wrinkly in Water?

Have you ever wondered why your fingers get wrinkly in the water? We’re curious too, so let’s find out!

How?

When you bathe or swim, your nervous system (the communication network in your body) sends messages to your blood vessels (tubes your blood moves through), telling them to shrink. The shrunken blood vessels take up less space in your fingers than normal, causing the loose skin to fold. This makes your fingers and toes appear wrinkly.

Why?

Scientists are still trying to understand why this happens.

Scientists are still trying to understand why this happens. Though no one knows the exact reason, some people believe our fingers wrinkle in the water so we can still pick things up easily, even with wet hands.

Maybe someday you’ll be the scientist who discovers why our fingers look like raisins after they’ve soaked in the tub or swimming pool!

Fun Facts

• Your fingers wrinkle quicker in fresh water than in salt water and in warm water than cold water. You’d probably shrivel up faster in a hot tub than in the cool ocean.
• A monkey called a macaque (muh-KAK) also gets wrinkly fingers in the water. Scientists aren’t certain if this happens to any other species.

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