Wrinkled in the Bathtub

Why you shrivel as you bathe

(HealthDayNews) -- Why do your hands and feet wrinkle like prunes when you sit in the bathtub for a long time?

Because the skin on the soles and palms lack the glands that secrete the fatty, lubricating substance that blocks water absorption, says the Doubleday and Co. book, Amazing Facts About Your Body.

Elsewhere, every square inch of skin contains about 90 glands that produce that protective oil, 625 sweat glands, 19 feet of intricately woven blood vessels, 19,000 nerve cells and, on average, about 65 hairs populated by tens of millions of microscopic mites and bacteria.

Related Stories

No stories found.
logo
www.healthday.com