Open blister care

[jethro]

I know blisters have been beat to death here, but does anyone have any suggestions on how I can wrap up a nasty heel blister (1/2" wide) that tore open during a hike today? I'd like to go hiking tomorrow, and I'm not sure if a bandaid/moleskin/duct tape wrap is the best plan; I've dealt successfully with moleskin before, but never on a raw open blister hence my question.

Can anyone suggest a good "next day" patch to get me through one more hike? FWIW I've disinfected it and have it smeared with neosporin under a band aid for the night.

Thanks guys

 

[DougPaul]

You have an open abrasion.

Try to protect it with the moleskin/molefoam with a hole in the center trick to minimize friction on the raw flesh.

Doug

 

[chinooktrail]

I have just gone through this with both heels, HUGE blisters. You can look at my old thread. What worked for me was washing up the area good with soap and water, drying it really really good, and covering the whole thing with a Band Aid Advanced Healing Blister cover. And just leave it on as long as it will, I had them on over a week. They worked great for me, and I will never hike without them again. Instantly stopped the pain, covered the area, protected it from further rubbing and lasted until I was healed. Good luck.

 

[Big D]

There used be something in drug stores called compeed or something like that. They worked great on blisters. You put it right over the blister and it protected the skin and you left it on until it fell off. Otherwise I would use a moleskin donut around the blister and a salve like neosporin.
big D

 

[jethro]

Thanks guys, I'll let you know how it goes

 

[jethro]

FWIW - I tried the Band Aid advanced blister care (which uses Compeed) and it let me get up Mount Washington without incident on Thursday - pain was minimal, and the pad stayed on perfectly.

The only stupid mistake I made was taking the pad off after the hike since I wanted to see how much I aggravated the blister; since this blister was large (about 1" diameter) the adhesive caught onto the skin covering the blister and tore it back open - trying to disinfect it was excruciatingly painful.

Just leave it on a few days like the instructions say, even in the shower - it's fine. Bottom line is I highly recommend these things - thx for the suggestion.

 

[chinooktrail]

You are quite welcome. I did the same thing, I knew my ski boots gave me blisters, so I attempted to 'pretreat' by using them. When I got back I took the pads off, and everything on my heels with them, ouch. So, after someone suggested them again on this board, I purchased the larger ones to cover the entire blisters, which were exactly the size of the medium pads. I left them on until they came off in the shower, over a week I would say, but I was NOT about to make the same mistake twice. They worked great and saved my feet for a few more activities this winter. Good luck, glad you could get up the rockpile with them.

 

[sierra]

I cover it with Neosprorin then a big bandage then white athletic tape. I dissagree with the advice of keeping it covered in the shower, imo it should be washed and reapplied with the Neosprin as often as possible.

 

[Sherpette]

Thanks for this informative thread. I wore Sherpa Johns socks on accident this Saturday Hiking and the bunched up at my heel for some reason. The rubbing caused me some nickle sized blisters.

Being diabetic, taking care of my feet is VERY important. Without proper care, I could actually lose the felling in them.. not good. I also heel MUCH slower. So, this thread helped me (never had a blister on my feet ever) see great ways to treat the problem effectively unlike Sherpa Johns Remedy called "laugh at it."

Thanks Everyone!

 

[Sherpa John]

I wasn't laughing at the fact you had a blister. I was laughing at the whimpering coming from the shower. HEHE!