The boot breaking in thread has touched on this and its something that has always puzzled me.
What is the correct way to treat blisters?
i was always taught to pop & drain friction blisters
but leave blood blisters and burn blisters well alone.
is this right?
That's what I do, but I've heard plenty of people claiming that one should leave friction blisters alone also.
burst, then pick incessantly at the flappy blister skin.....
As far as I know there is no real consensus. Nurses like me like to do something - anything so tend to deroof the blister and dress it.
I think if the blister is intact leave it - unless the pressure in it causes pain in which case puncture it with a stril needle and then leave it.
If the blister bursts deroof it ( remove the unattached skin) and dress it with a hydrocolloid dressing ( compeed or similar)
Unless of course you are in the middle of a trek when you need to dress it in such a way as to prevent further friction - in which case the compeed might do but I tend to go for a fabric dressing well stuck to the foot to reduce friction and take care of healing after the walking is completed
For friction reduction I've found Spenco Second Skin to be brilliant. They do a blister it which is OK but my fave is the Skin Care Pad which is a gel-like sheet that you cut to size and is re-useable. It's about 4mm thick and does an amazing job at cutting out friction on pressure points.
generally i look at them acknowledge them ....make sure they are clean but then leave them
got one on the end of my second toe atm and in the bit between the ball of foot and ball of toe on the other foot
i guess if i worked on my feet all day like the old days then id worry about it
Amputation for lower limb blisters.
Nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure.
One tip I learnt when I used to waterski a lot (edit - so this is for friction blisters, don't know about the others...) - deroof, then get a vitamin e capsule, bite the end off and rub the vitamin e-rich oil into the raw bit.
Heals in a day or two, like witchcraft...
Just dont get them, preventative prosthetics help if you cant work out comfortable footwear.
these:
are literally amazingly good, get blister, stick one of those on, leave until comes off. blister forgotten.
Depends where and what you are doing. Blisters are the scourge of adventure racing and my preferred treatment plan is - drain it with a clean needle, compeed or similar, tape then duct tape the lot over to make it waterproof and slidey. Works.
I am a fan of the waterproof tape but TJ reckons it will macerate the skin. I would only keep the tape on for the day but I can see how the skin might start to rot a bit after a long time under a waterproof bandage.
After bursting cover in zinc tape and then cover with micropore - you need the micropore because otherwise the zinc tape sticks to your socks.
burst and you have a good pathway to infection.
leave it alone kids its not good for you
As an ex-rower where it's routine to get them...
If there's any way to stop them popping, do it. They always heal fastest if not burst. If you know that they will burst on say the next ride ( pierce with a sterilised needle then drain and keep disinfecting) or they already have burst then the best thing is to stop it drying out and keep the broken skin as whole as possible (eg don't tear it off) as that'll help stop it drying. Keep it moist by using Vaseline/Norwegian hand cream or whatever works for you. Compede patches or similar are good if there in a place they won't come off. Micropore tape is very good too.
burst it, preferably by nipping it wi yr fingernails, then douse it wi surgical spirit, stings like f*** but drys em out a treat. when skin starts t peel trim it wi nail clippers an use some sort vitamin e rich cream, works a treat....
compeed are amazing
I can't believe I only just discovered them this year
they're like magic and stuff
+2 for compeed
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