Wrinkled Hands Disease: Fact Or Fiction? (Here’s What We Know)

Have you noticed a lot of wrinkles on your hands?

Do your hands look more wrinkled than the skin on the rest of your body?

If you are confused and want to understand what’s going on and whether this is something serious, do read on.

Today we talk about what wrinkly hands usually look and feel like and whether or not this is natural. We also talk about wrinkly skin syndrome and its causes, and share with you some ways that can help to reverse the effect.

What do wrinkly hands look and feel like and can hands ever get too wrinkly?

Wrinkly hands appear to have fine lines and wrinkles on them, especially on the tips of the fingers. Also, in such cases, the skin on the hand can start to look paler or whiter than the skin on the rest of the body.

wrinkled hands disease
  • If you touch the fingers when they appear to have wrinkles on them, you may feel the skin especially rough and the wrinkles standing out. They will in fact feel very prominent and the rest of the skin around it may feel papery.
  • In most of the cases, the wrinkled hands will get better on their own in some time, but if the signs appear to be there for too long and if nothing that you do at home to make it better at home seems to make it any better, you should get it examined by a doctor or skin specialist.

Is there such a thing as wrinkled hands disease? When should I be worried?

It is quite common to get wrinkles on your hands, especially if you have soaked them in water for a long time. In most cases, having wrinkled hands on your hands or fingers may not indicate any health condition as such, but it is better to get them examined by a skin specialist if you notice them for too long.

what is a wrinkled hands disease
  • When you soak your hands for too long in water, the kertain present in your skin starts to absorb it. If your hands are in water for too long, the keratin will keep absorbing the water and start to swell.
  • At the same time, the insides of your fingers do not swell. As a result, it looks as if all the skin has wrinkled and is gathered together.
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    The epidermis or the outer layer of skin on the tips of your fingers is much thicker than on other parts of your body. Also, the nails on your fingers also absorb some of the water which further makes it look like your fingers are all swollen.
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    When your hands are left in the water for too long, the extra water starts to evaporate very quickly as soon as it is out of the water. This also makes your hands look extra wrinkly and dry.

Is Wrinkly Skin Syndrome the same as Wrinkled Hands Disease?

Wrinkly skin syndrome is very different from the wrinkled hands disease. It is in fact a type of genetic condition in which the skin starts to sag or looks full of wrinkles. In this case, the overall elasticity of your skin is also less as compared to what it is with other people. In a lot of the cases, this is a condition that you may have inherited. It is also considered to be a hereditary connective tissue disorder.

5 common causes of wrinkled skin on the hands

Here are 5 of the most common causes that could be making the skin on your hands look wrinkled.

1. Dehydration

wrinkled hand disease
  • Dehydration is also one of the most common causes that can make the skin on your hands look as if they are full of wrinkles.
  • If you do not have enough fluids in your system, your body will start to become dehydrated.
  • As a result, your skin will start looking dry and you may also feel that the skin is itchy or tingly.
  • In some cases, the skin can also look as if there are small prunes there, without even immersing them in water.

2. Exposure to sun

signs of wrinkled hands disease
  • The sun’s harmful UV rays can also have a negative effect on your skin and make your hands look wrinkled.
  • If your hands are always exposed to sunlight, the ultra violet radiation from the sun can damage the collagen and elastin present in your skin.
  • This mostly affects the elastin and collagen that is present in the uppermost or dermal layer of your skin.
  • As a result, when there is loss of collagen or elastin, your skin starts to lose its firmness and looks saggy and wrinkled.

3. Age

causes of wrinkled hands disease
  • Age is one of the most obvious reasons that can cause the skin on your hands to become wrinkled.
  • When you start getting older, your skin starts becoming thinner. Also, the fats that are stored in the deeper layers of your skin also start reducing with age, and as a result your skin starts to sag.
  • When your skin sags, it starts to bunch up and looks as if your skin is full of wrinkles.
  • With age, your skin also starts to produce lesser amounts of collagen and elastin. Both of these are responsible to keep your skin tight and firm. But when your body produces less of these, the skin starts to become loose as well.
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    As a result, your skin also starts to dry up sooner and the wrinkles become more prominent.

4. Being exposed to water for too long

cause of wrinkled hands disease
  • When you place your hands in water for a long time, the water tends to affect the outer layer of skin on your hands.
  • As a result, it also affects the nerve fibres that are present in your hand.
  • When your hands are in the water for a long time, the water starts to penetrate into your skin through the sweat ducts that are present in your hand.
  • The water that penetrates through your skin then reaches the nerves in your hands, and causes a change in their fibre.
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    When that happens, your nervous system receives signals that can constrict the flow of blood. As a result, the skin on the tips of your fingers starts to shrink inwards and you may notice small ridges appearing on the surface.

5. Very cold temperatures

how you can get wrinkled hands disease
  • If you are in a cold temperature, you may develop wrinkles on the tips of your fingers.
  • If it is too cold, it can cause changes in the way your blood circulates in the body and this can further make your skin look wrinkled or shrivelled.
  • When you are experiencing a lot of cold around you, it can affect the blood circulation and in some cases, the skin on your hands can also look paler.

Is there a way to slow down or reverse the wrinkling of the hands? What are the 3 best ways to do this?

Three of the best ways in which you can slow down or reverse the wrinkling in your hands is by drinking enough fluids through the day, moisturizing your hands to avoid them getting dry and using a hand cream with retinol to improve collagen.


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