6 Completely Disgusting Facts About Human Skin
An indisputable fact is that the skin is the largest organ in the human body. As much as the brain, heart or even lungs gain more attention, the tissue that lines our bodies is completely essential to our existence and simply protects our flesh from constantly rotting.
However, for this to be accomplished, the skin has also been programmed to die all the time, which can have some truly disgusting consequences. With that in mind, we’ve listed six facts about this important part of your existence that could turn your stomach. Look that!
1. Fungi on the foot
Image Source – New Hope Podiatry Group
You may not know it, but your feet are a veritable paradise for fungal growth, and it’s not just one or two species of fungus that inhabit your body right now, there are many!
According to a study by the National Institute for Human Genome Research, about 40 fungi live between the toes and more than 60 have taken up residence under the nails. However, the most striking place is the heel with an impressive 80 species of fungi.
2. Transformation into scales
Image Source – Health Line
The skin is made up of a complex array of cells, which can result in some genetic flaws over time. This is the case for those who suffer from the disease ichthyosis vulgaris, which has become known as “fish scale disease”.
In this case, a defective gene causes the skin to peel even more slowly, causing the keratin to accumulate on the surface of the body to form a layer similar to the skin of reptiles and fish.
3. human books
Image Source – Archives Month Philly
Did you know that there are 18 confirmed editions of book covers created with human skin? Strangely, there is no pattern among them that explains the existence of these bizarre works, that is, we do not know if they were created by religious rituals, professions or any specific group of individuals.
4. Leather shoes
Image Source – Nonprofit Af
Throughout history, there are many bizarre uses of human skin, and an example of this is what was done with the corpse of the criminal Big Nose George. He was executed and had the skin removed by Dr. John Eugene Osborne, which was used to make the shoes the doctor wore during his election as third governor of Wyoming.
5. Allergy
Image Source – The Harvard Gazette
If you are allergic to dust, be aware that you are also allergic to your skin. According to recent studies, about 40% to 80% of the material in your house dust is made up of dead skin. This is not a big surprise as we are flaking off all the time.
6. Constant sweating
Image Source – RAC GP
Human skin is not just made up of dead cells. In fact, the skin is working all the time, producing sebum and a lot of sweat. Throughout the body, there are more than 10 million sweat glands that can produce up to 11 liters of sweat on a hot summer day.
Your skin and the sun
We can look in the mirror daily and notice beautiful, young and healthy skin. However, over time, we begin to observe the appearance of wrinkles, expression lines, stains and sagging. Often, such signs of age are just a consequence of the natural aging process. However, they can also be caused by something that has been hidden by the skin for some time: the cumulative damage caused by unprotected sun exposure, which is responsible for about 80 to 90% of skin aging.
“Sun exposure without photoprotection causes damage that accumulates over the years, thus generating changes in DNA that cause cell mutation reactions, with consequent premature aging, since sun exposure is linked to inflammation, oxidative damage and production of enzymes that degrade collagen, resulting in sagging skin, with wrinkles and blemishes”, says Dr. Claudia Marcal.
And some people suffer more from sun damage than others. “Some individuals are even more susceptible to photoaging, such as those who have a variant of the MMP1 gene, which promotes collagen degradation eight times greater than normal after sun exposure”, highlights geneticist Dr. Marcelo Sady. For this reason, the daily use of a sunscreen with at least SPF 30 is essential.
The skin is responsible for regulating body temperature.
The skin is responsible for a very important function, which is to keep the body temperature balanced. For this reason, when we perform physical efforts, we are stressed or feel hot, it is normal to sweat, as it is the body’s response to these situations in an attempt to regulate body temperature. However, it is important to pay attention to the amount of sweat produced, as excessive sweating in concentrated areas even when we are at rest can be a sign of hyperhidrosis.
