I just learned that humans don’t have receptors to sense wetness. What is it that we feel when water touches our skin then?

Question

From my understanding, we’re able to feel the temperature, texture and pressure of water. And if we’re able to feel all that, what more else is there? What defines wetness and what should it feel like?

In: 1135

Answer 1

I believe we do have a bunch of specialised receptors above our lips and brows that are solely responsible for telling our brain whether we are submerged or in the atmosphere. These receptors are responsible for kicking in the mammalian dive reflex which changes a bunch of things in our body to adapt to diving. In a way we might call it a wetness sense.