What happens to your hands as you age?

Surely everyone wants to know what happens to our hands as we get older. As you age, your hands will also change over time in terms of their ability to function and changes in the skin of the hands. This change is a natural part of aging.

As you get older, the hand will have a change in activity. Specifically:
Grip strength: You may lose strength in your hand muscles as you age, especially after age 65, and that can make it difficult to perform everyday tasks. If your grip is weak over time, it may be due to musculoskeletal problems in the hand. But if it happens suddenly, it could be a sign of a more serious problem like diabetes, heart disease or high blood pressure or stroke. Hand tremors: Your hands can shake for a variety of reasons at any age, but it's more common after the age of 50. Hand tremors make it difficult for you to hold certain objects or have difficulty doing something. needed to hit the target. There may be active tremors that occur when you try to use your hands, or passive tremors that occur when your hands are at rest. Some diseases in the elderly also cause hand tremors such as vestibular disease, parkinsonism... Not only due to age, but some drugs can cause or make the disease worse. Hand pain: Hand pain is a condition that can occur at any age, but with the elderly, this condition is more common, possibly due to arthritis, degenerative joint disease, disease in the tendons and muscles...

Like other skin areas on the body, the skin of the hands will also experience aging problems due to exposure to sunlight, chemicals.... Changes on the skin of your hands may be encountered such as :
Wrinkled hand skin : As you age, your hands lose fat, collagen and skin elasticity leading to wrinkly hand skin as you age. Black spots on the skin of the hands: In addition to the wrinkled skin of the hands, black spots on the skin also appear. Not only on the hands but many places on the body will also appear these black spots. This condition appears mainly due to frequent exposure to UV rays, which causes changes in the skin of the hands. Ribbed hands: In fact, this condition is caused by aging the skin thins and the veins underneath the skin of the hands become more visible. Hand shriveled hands wither as you age, making your hands look less youthful. Dry, scaly skin: Dry, scaly skin is common at any age but it tends to increase with age. Lack of water and not enough sleep can make your skin dry and more prone to flaking. Dry and brittle nails: Due to the change in moisture on the nails, the nails become dry and brittle more easily. This condition increases with age and it is greatly influenced by external factors such as low air humidity, frequent chemical exposure.

Aging can affect the organs of the body in general and the hands in particular, although it is not possible to prevent aging from occurring, but we can also use some measures to slow down the aging process. aging and help your hands look younger.
Exercise to increase muscle strength: Regular exercises help muscle mass develop better, reducing the situation of uncertain grip. You can do exercises like squeezing something like a tennis ball or airball as hard as you can for 3 to 5 seconds, then rest for a while, then do 10 times with each hand. Start with once a day or every other day, depending on how your hands feel. Use sunscreen: Not only should you use sunscreen for your face, but you should also use sunscreen for your hands. Because the impact of UV rays on the skin will make your skin age faster, appear age spots on the skin, wrinkled hands... Exfoliation: The layers of dry, flaky skin are layers. dead skin, so you need to remove this dead skin to make your hands look smoother. Exfoliation can be used 1-2 times per week. Moisturizing: Moisturizing is a very important step to avoid skin dehydration after washing hands, exfoliating... Moisturizing helps skin look plump by limiting water loss and especially avoiding dryness and cracking. period of low ambient humidity. Wear gloves when working: Limit the contact of your hands with water or chemicals for too long, you should use gloves when working or even when going out of the house to avoid dehydration of the skin. Use mild soaps and mild detergents to avoid drying the skin. Healthy diet: A balanced diet rich in antioxidant vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids helps nourish skin and develop healthy nails. Staying away from stimulants, alcohol and cigarettes is also a way to help wrinkled hands become rejuvenated. Reasonable lifestyle and rest: Exercise regularly every day, get enough sleep and avoid stressful work. Some notes: If your hands are shaking passively, accompanied by stiff or blocky movements, it could be a medical condition that needs to be treated. When your hands are aging and you do not see an improvement after the above measures, you can visit a dermatologist for advice on suitable procedures. Wrinkled hands as you age or hands with dark spots and veins make you feel less confident. Although these are normal signs of aging, it is not impossible to prevent and slow down the process. So, take care of your hands now to make your hands younger!

References: webmd.com, health.clevelandclinic.org, healthline.com