Physiological Water Immersion Induced Hand Wrinkling in Medical Students

Abstract

sustained period until they noticed the first appearance of Photographic evaluation after inducing in Abstract Aim: This study aims to observe if there is a physiological variation in the appearance or disappearance of water immersion induced wrinkling time in medical students. Introduction: 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. Objectives: To induce Wrinkling in patients with Dermatoses under standard conditions. To assess the water immersion induced wrinkling in normal population Methods: This is an observational study done in 80 medical students who attended dermatology posting at the department of Dermatology in Amala Institute of Medical Sciences for a period of ten months. The subject’s both hands were placed in tap water for to elicit wrinkling. The data was analyzed using statistical methods: Student’s unpaired t test, ANOVA test, Kruskal Wallis test. Results: Out of 80 students females’ participants took longer to develop water immersion induced wrinkles compared to males. Conclusion: There is a significant variation in the wrinkling pattern with respect to gender. The role of estrogen was a novel observation.