The Surprising Effect Of Space Conditions On Astronauts' Hands
Space isn't a friendly place for human bodies. With our evolution rooted in Earth, the environment on the ground supports human life. In space, things can get a little tricky. For starters, astronauts can lose bone and muscle density and are required to stay fit in space. At the same, there might be vision problems caused by too much fluid in the brain in the absence of gravity. In essence, gravity and such forces on Earth make human life easy.
How do spacewalks affect astronauts' fingernails?
Did you know that spacewalks also affect the fingernails of astronauts? The technical term for this is a medical condition called onycholysis wherein after a spacewalk (or an extravehicular activity), astronauts lose their fingernails.
Space has very little ambient pressure that's not considered good for the human body. Space suits are pressurised to make spacewalks safe for astronauts. However, it becomes tricky with the hands. "Injuries to the hands are common among astronauts who train for extravehicular activity (EVA)," wrote a team led by epidemiologist Jacqueline Charvat of Wyle Laboratories in a conference paper in 2015.
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"When the gloves are pressurized, they restrict movement and create pressure points during tasks, sometimes resulting in pain, muscle fatigue, abrasions, and occasionally more severe injuries such as onycholysis. Glove injuries, both anecdotal and recorded, have been reported during EVA training and flight persistently through NASA's history regardless of mission or glove model," Charvat added.
What did the scientists find?
Sometimes, spacewalks can be long, with the longest one on record lasting for 8 hours and 56 minutes, Science Alert reported. During spacewalks, astronauts may have to perform manual tasks outside the space station in gloves that can often cause hand injuries. No matter the glove's design, there seemed to be issues with injuries.
So far, figuring out what causes it has been difficult. Earlier this year, a team led by Christopher Reid, who now works at Boeing, studied onycholysis injuries in astronauts.
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The study examined 31 onycholysis injuries - 27 during training exercises, four during spacewalks that were reported by 22 astronauts. Researchers found that the a glove's design played a significant role. Between two glove types, one was associated with 8.5 times the risk of fingernail loss. Most injuries happened to the middle finger. Glove sizing and the length of the middle finger played a role and the injury seemed more likely in women than men.
In essence, it appears that improper glove fit might play a role, although, gloves are fitted to each wearer for NASA astronauts.
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