A comparative analysis of water immersion induced hand wrinkling in dermatological diseases

Abstract

Skin wrinkling is hypothesized as an adaptive phenomenon that is generated as an evolutionary process. Water immersion-induced wrinkling is a non-invasive test graded from 0-5 that involves placing one’s hands into lukewarm water for a set amount of time. Despite the increased interest in skin rejuvenation, a baseline study describing the variation in water immersion induced hand wrinkling is still missing. We aim to experimentally compare the water immersion-induced wrinkling time in various dermatological conditions in the current study.One hundred patients from the Department of dermatology were evaluated based on their presenting Dermatoses like Psoriasis Vulgaris, Acral Vitiligo, and Hand Dermatitis were asked to place their hands in 25±1°C tap water to elicit water-induced wrinkling. Twenty-five patients were included as age-matched controls without any significant dermatoses. Following this, the time of early and complete disappearance of wrinkles was documented.: Out of 100 patients, water-induced wrinkling time was seen earliest in Dermatitis > healthy controls > Psoriasis>Vitiligo. rnThe formation of wrinkles diminished significantly as age advanced. Within the normal population, females participants took longer to develop water immersion-induced wrinkles compared to males.: There is a significant variation in the water immersion induced hand wrinkling pattern in patients with Dermatoses like Psoriasis, Vitiligo, and Hand Dermatitis due to structural alterations in the epidermis and dermis. Estrogen and the sympathetic nervous system play a significant role in water immersion-induced wrinkling. The role of estrogen in this phenomenon was a novel observation.