Blister treatment

[Tex]

Hi all. During a 8km hike yesterday my new boots gave me a blister on my heel. How do you treat a blister? Do you pop it, put something on it before taping it?

[wayno]

i pop it,
you can get blister plasters from the chemist, they are great, they absorb any fluid and created a gel pad over teh blister to cushion it, you can leave the plaster on and it will heal... but they arent very durable. i put tape over the top. something like leukoplast to avoid the plaster getting damaged esp if i'm still on a trip....
if you're able to get your shoes off over the holidays then it will heal faster with nothing on it for as long as you can leave it exposed to the air.. you might want to treat it with something like iodine if youre worried about infection, iodine stings a lot when you apply it....

[ice]

Vaseline - works for prevention and treatment

[madmacca]

Best treatment is to not walk on it, or change boots. And leave to go down on its own.

If you do need to walk on it, drain it with a sterilized needle (pass it through a flame), and treat regularly with antiseptic (doesn't help the blister, but it does stop it from becoming infected). Tape over the top of the blister (elastoplast, leukoplast or the like). Bandaids don't stick long enough on sweaty feet.

Deal with any hot spots or the like as soon as you feel anything - don't wait for a full-on blister to develop. Tape is good, as the boot/sock will rub against the tape, rather than your skin.

[claudicles]

What you want to avoid is ongoing friction between the top of the blister and the base. It will deepen or enlarge. There are a number of ways to do it. Puncure it and leave the top on with some sort of dressing over it. Take the top off and use one of the blister dressings - compeed and you can get larger sheets of duoderm or comfeel. These tend to peel up at the edges in any sort of shoes so something over the top is great. I use fixamul/hypafix/mefix or omnifix, whichever brand I can get hold of. Wayno's leucoplast suggestion will work too. You can leave the top on and avoid any situation that will cause friction. It will burst of its own accord soon enough. Simple hygeine should help you avoid infection. Running clean water is fine. Don't wear manky socks and change your sweaty socks for something clean. I favour deroof, duoderm, fixamul and I've never had one infected.

[Bluegum Mic]

As madmacca said it is best to leave it to drain as it should heal a lot better ie the skin layers 'should' (hopefully) return to normal once its drained. Stay off it and avoid footwear that will rub it and pop it if possible.

Pop it and you create a wound that needs to be treated as a wound ie anitsceptic, dressing etc. and all the things that come with that ie possible scar (albeit usually not bad or lasting...I have plenty pop on the trail lol), risk of infection etc.

[Nuts]

Yes, I agree leave them if possible, they heal quicker. The hotspot thing mentioned is vital, blisters are not at all necessary.. Tape early.

[pazzar]

I generally put tape on my heel before I go for a walk. My boots don't usually give me blisters, but I'm breaking in a couple of pairs and I don't think its worth the risk. I've never had one get infected though. I usually just pop them and tape them up.

[Ent]

Rare occurrence for me on the weekend was a blister. Over the top of the medical dressing I applied 100 mile tape as recommended a few times on various threads. It worked a treat as it held on the sweaty heel. I am now a convert to this running repair.

Cheers

[madmacca]

I've never had one get infected though. I usually just pop them and tape them up.

I've never had one get infected on me either. But I have seen it on others. Given how easy it is to treat with some antiseptic, it seems a wise precaution.

[WarrenH]

If you have acquired a bad blister on the first day of a long walk or early into a walk, this is a good soothing treatment that will allow you to keep walking comfortably.

If the blister is closed or open, irrigate it with clean water or better still Sodium Chloride 0.9% if the wound is open.

Use Second Skin. Cut the Second Skin to slightly larger than the blister by about 10-15mm. Cloth tape goes over the Second Skin to secure it in place. To stop the tape from rolling up on the edges, because of moisture from sweat and peeling away from more rubbing, particularly the tape rolling off at the corners, paint a border around the second skin area by about a 10-15mm with Friar's Balsam, using cotton buds. Make sure that the tape fits completely within the Friar's Balsam area.

To comfortably remove the tape to check and clean the wound, an easy way is soaking the edge of the tape with Eucalyptus oil. Both Friar's Balsam and Eucalyptus Oil can be got in 25mm bottles. If re-taping make sure the Eucalyptus oil has been removed completely. Tape over Friar's Balsam isn't harder to remove than normally, it just keeps the tape on when the area is moist. Friar's Balsam is particularly good when the tape gets wet repeatedly or sweaty, particularly when sailing or kayaking.

For Second Skin, once the packet is opened, it is good to reseal it in a small zip-lock bag. Second Skin is a sheet of jell that is cut to size, to protect a wound. It takes away the pain of a bad blister/s and small burns ... if you haven't used the stuff, it's very good.

I learnt this when I did a Wilderness First Aid course.

Warren.

[norts]

Definitely would not trust this post
WarrenH
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius
Posts: 666
Joined: Thu 07 Jan, 2010 6:54 pm

It's his devil post.

Roger

[WarrenH]

Norts, a doppelgänger posted. It often gets me into trouble.

Warren.

Last edited by WarrenH on Fri 28 Dec, 2012 10:33 am, edited 1 time in total.

[jungle jim]

If the blister is closed or open, irrigate it with clean water or better still Sodium Chloride 0.9% if the wound is open.

Use Second Skin. Cut the Second Skin to slightly larger than the blister by about 10-15mm. Cloth tape goes over the Second Skin to secure it in place. To stop the tape from rolling up on the edges, because of moisture from sweat and peeling away from more rubbing, particularly the tape rolling off at the corners, paint a border around the second skin area by about a 10-15mm with Friar's Balsam, using cotton buds. Make sure that the tape fits completely within the Friar's Balsam area.

To comfortably remove the tape to check and clean the wound, an easy way is soaking the edge of the tape with Eucalyptus oil. Both Friar's Balsam and Eucalyptus Oil can be got in 25mm bottles. If re-taping make sure the Eucalyptus oil has been removed completely. Tape over Friar's Balsam isn't harder to remove than normally, it just keeps the tape on when the area is moist. Friar's Balsam is particularly good when the tape gets wet repeatedly or sweaty, particularly when sailing or kayaking.

Good idea,
I've used second skin on long hikes before and it has helped but had problems holding it in place. This seems a better solution.

[Pteropus]

My new boots gave me fearsome blisters on the weekend, which is a shame, since I cannot remember my last blister as all my previous pairs of hiking boots have never given me any trouble and were fantastic straight from the box. SO, I have been complacent about blisters and do not have much experience with them. I have been reading a few things here and elsewhere for fixing them (blisters, not the boots ) I am mainly interested in what kind of tape you use to tape your feet? I keep coming across people just saying they tape their feet up, but not what with. At the chemist there are many kinds of tape, and the lady was not that helpful. Is there a dedicated athletic tape? Warren, I noticed you mention you used a cloth tape over second skin. What is the width of this tape? Any help appreciated.
Cheers
Andrew

[Hallu]

None of the usual stuff works for me. My feet sweat a lot, even with breathable socks/shoes. So any tape/second skin/blister bandage is completely useless, it falls off in a matter of minutes. I usually get a couple of blisters per week, even with the right shoes. So I learned to live with them, and the best treatment for me is to actually pierce them in the evening after a shower, on the same day they appeared : I just use a pair of small scissors, some antiseptic, and cut a tiny opening. It should be big enough so all the fluid goes away, but not so wide that the skin is exposed (it can be tricky on heel blisters, it's easy on toe blisters). The idea is to get rid of the fluid, and to have the blister dry up during the night, closing the opening (it will form a callus), so you can walk on it the next morning. To walk on pierced blisters, I realized that roomy tough boots like zamberlan are best than comfortable snug synthetic light shoes. Once your foot is warmed up, you lose the pain and can walk almost normally. That means that if you walk on blisters, try to keep walking, avoid stopping as much as you can or the pain will come back once your feet are cool again. This is also why you usually don't notice them appearing until you've removed your shoes and relaxed after a long walk.

So unlike most people who let the blisters live their life or keep the wound wet with some gel, I pierce them and dry them as soon as possible.

[Pteropus]

...To walk on pierced blisters, I realized that roomy tough boots like zamberlan are best than comfortable snug synthetic light shoes. Once your foot is warmed up, you lose the pain and can walk almost normally. That means that if you walk on blisters, try to keep walking, avoid stopping as much as you can or the pain will come back once your feet are cool again.

Well, in my case my new boots are Zamberlans, which are taking over the walking duties from my Asolos, which were the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn. My new boots are the same size as the old, and the fit feels the same at first walk. But the Asolos did a lot of walking and felt great (their tread has worn down much too quickly) and the Zamberlans felt okay for the first two walks of 10 km each, with no blisters. Then two days of 20+ km each on the weekend they felt atrocious. I guess it didn't help that it was raining, but I have never had to break a boot in before with my previous pairs, so I was unprepared. My mediocre blister pads I used after the first day fell off pretty quickly on the second day and now my heals are a mess. I am hoping I can get a tape that will not rub off on future walks. That Leukotape looks okay so will look into that.

[matagi]

Try Fixomull Stretch if you want something that will not come off easily when wet.

[Hallu]

Yeah zamberlans need breaking in, it was on the Achilles' heel for my part. Now it's fine, but it required about 15 hours of walking with them. The payoff is huge for me though, I've never had a pair of shoes with which I could walk even with a blistered foot. The sole is very flexible and comfortable too. I was afraid of the weight on the long term, but I didn't feel it that much.

[Onestepmore]

None of the usual stuff works for me. My feet sweat a lot, even with breathable socks/shoes. So any tape/second skin/blister bandage is completely useless, it falls off in a matter of minutes. I usually get a couple of blisters per week, even with the right shoes.

Hallu, have you any idea why you get so many blisters? To get several blisters PER WEEK seems insane
Have you just got weird feet (not trying to be rude or anything)
While bushwalking I've only had one in my current shoes, and that was when wearing short socks with gaiters - the gaiters kept riding up at the ankle. I wear a pair of Oboze low shoes
I've had blisters from other shoes though
Is this something that only happens if you wear ankle boots?

Many (US) you-tube vids mention using 'moleskin' patches - is this the same moleskin that I used to wear as heavy duty twill pants when I Jillarooed in SW Qld? or something different?
I have seen suggestions that you cut a donut from the end of a closed cell sleeping mat, and tape that over the area. I use a lot of different bandage materials in my work, and leukoplast or a large piece of elastoplast (fabric based) seems to work well for me for blisters. Bandaids are useless - they just rub off. My 'go -to' cream is always vet Neocort - antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, local anaesthetic (called 'magic cream' in my household - stings, rashes, sores, blisters etc)

Last edited by Onestepmore on Wed 09 Jan, 2013 9:20 am, edited 3 times in total.

[Hallu]

When your feet sweat it increases the friction hence more blisters. If you get your feet wet after a river crossing you'll notice you get blisters more easily. When I said several a week it's during bushwalking vacations, it's not year round. I can walk all around in the city without getting blisters, it only happens on long walks on rugged tracks. When I was a kid though, with tennis shoes and regular socks I would get several huge blisters after an hour or two of walking no matter how good the track. Now with thick calluses grown over time, good shoes and double socks, it's manageable. I just did 12 days of walking in NZ's South island, and got about 3 or 4 total, all treated the way I described before, so it never stopped me from doing what I wanted to do (the foul weather did though).

[Rob A]

Why dont you take five inch strips of half in sticking plaster and tape horizontally round the heel from top to bottom to cup the heel?

[ULWalkingPhil]

None of the usual stuff works for me. My feet sweat a lot, even with breathable socks/shoes. So any tape/second skin/blister bandage is completely useless, it falls off in a matter of minutes. I usually get a couple of blisters per week, even with the right shoes.

Hallu, have you any idea why you get so many blisters? To get several blisters PER WEEK seems insane
Have you just got weird feet (not trying to be rude or anything)
While bushwalking I've only every had one, and that was when wearing short socks with gaiters - the gaiters kept riding up at the ankle. I wear a pair of Oboze low shoes
I've had blisters from other shoes though
Is this something that only happens if you wear ankle boots?

Many (US) you-tube vids mention using 'moleskin' patches - is this the same moleskin that I used to wear as heavy duty twill pants when I Jillarooed in SW Qld? or something different?
I have seen suggestions that you cut a donut from the end of a closed cell sleeping mat, and tape that over the area. I use a lot of different bandage materials in my work, and leukoplast or a large piece of elastoplast (fabric based) seems to work well for me for blisters. Bandaids are useless - they just rub off. My 'go -to' cream is always vet Neocort - antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, local anaesthetic (called 'magic cream' in my household - stings, rashes, sores, blisters etc)

i had a vet gave me some cream stuff once, it sure is magic, always wanted to get more, but the vet has left town. Any pains, rub a bit of this cream in and pain is gone.

[beachcruiser]

Anyone got any tips for a quick recovery for blisters under toe nails? I've had my fair share of blisters before, heels mostly, but not under my toe nails like I have now after 3 HOT days walking in the Budawangs - foolishly in gore-tex boots which made my feet VERY hot...
Blisters under little toes, next to little toes and big toes...

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[RuneCKJ]

Pop the blister with a sterilized needle/knife point etc. Iodine is very handy for this and to sterilize the wound after. If you are going to be walking on it, if you have some, rub methylated spirits over blister and around before putting a fabric dressing (Elastaplast etc) on it. This will dry the blister out and the spirits will help the dressing adhere to the skin. If you rub methylated spirits on your feet twice a day for at least a week before you venture out on a long tramp/hike/bushwalk, it will toughen up your feet considerably. Your feet should develop a harder skin but of course stop if cracking occurs. This is an old army trick that has worked for me and my colleges.

[beachcruiser]

Thanks runeCKJ, pretty much along the lines of what I have been doing, almost a week now and fortunately I've only had to put shoes on once, no walking this weekend...

[Lindsay]

If at all possible a blister should not be 'popped' A blister is your skins natural reaction to chafing and is designed to provide a protective cushion over the irritated skin. Draining removes this protective cushion and increases the chance of infection. Although there are some occasions when it may be necessary to drain a blister, it's best just to cover and leave to heal.