Foot Blisters?

I carrying on walking but put a bit of extra padding around the blister. Your shoes must be rubbing but you can break them in. Just check they fit properly and support you as they should. I have a big red one at the moment but carry on everyday with a bit more padding where the blister is.

I believe the thinking behind not breaking the blister is that by removing that protective layer of skin and plasma you expose the "injured" area to a risk of infection. It is not always possible to keep a blister from breaking, especially for me on the foot - just to much movement. If it does break, I usually recommend antibiotic ointment and a bandage for a couple of days while the healing starts.

I have also noticed on my blisters that if they don't break they heal faster. With some blisters, it seems like they don't know when to stop filling with plasma. The blister becomes so full that it is painful. When this happens, I sterilize a pin and poke a small hole at he base of the blister. Carefully blot up the released liquid and then cover with a bandage. Sometimes that top layer of skin will reattach to the lower layer other times it dries up and sluffs off in about a week and a half to two weeks. Just keep an eye out for infection because you have opened a way for infection, though I have never had a blistered area get infected after doing this. I like to err on the side of caution.

I am kind of envious that this is your first blister. I have spent to much of my work life in food service to be a stranger to blisters, though most of mine are burn related not friction related.

I usually let blisters go until they drain on their own. If I'm running and it pops on it's own they I'll bandage it and keep it covered while I'm active, but let it breathe and dry out when I'm at home.

As far as proventing them in the furure. What kind of sockes are you wearing? If you are wearing thin socks, ditch those for regular thinkness socks for when you are exercising. Thin socks don't give you enough padding.

May I ask why such a big jump in your times of doing it? Wonderful that you are pushing your self but maybe next time only increase by 15-30 mins so your body gets used to the extra strain on it then increase again when you feel like itll be good enough to

2 threads about blisters this AM!
Wow lol

I responded here as well:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1169260-blister-from-shoes

There's more advice there too

I've done it both ways. It'll heal a lot faster if you pop it by poking a tiny hole then squeezing it. Don't tear off the skin.

In the future make sure your socks are tight. I get blisters when my feet slide around in my socks.

Make sure your socks aren't cotton also. Cotton tends to hold moisture which increases friction when moving. Look for some polyester ones. Target sells good budget polyester running socks. I got a four pack recently for $12 vs the $12+ a pair a running store can charge.

Make sure you are wearing appropriate shoes and socks! Very important, trust me!

I have done a lot of walking in my time and suffered from a lot of foot blisters. I find them very painful when they pop on their own, I would rather have it on my own terms! So I use a sterilised needle and make a small hole, enough to squeeze the fluid out and so it won't refill, but don't remove the skin. Then I clean it and cover it with a hydrocolloid plaster such as compeed. They also help to cushion the area and protect it from further rubbing. Much less painful than letting it pop on its own, then dealing with an icky foot and sock.

If you pop the blister, you open it up to infection and bacteria. The don't tend to heal faster either way. Healing time depends more on the location and any ongoing trauma.

You can prevent blisters easily by using Bodyglide on your feet before you put on socks/shoes. You can also use vasoline, but it doesn't last as long and might stain your socks.

Get some moleskin - the adhesive kind - at the drugstore. Cut a square and then cut a whole in the middle to leave the blister area open. Make sure the moleskin is high enough to prevent contact witht he blister. Use multiple layers or the padded moleskin.

If you get blisters in the same places constantly, check you gait and shoes - it's often a sign of poor fit.

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May I ask why such a big jump in your times of doing it? Wonderful that you are pushing your self but maybe next time only increase by 15-30 mins so your body gets used to the extra strain on it then increase again when you feel like itll be good enough to

I have increase slowly. The last week of December I increase my walking by 10 minutes but then when my friends starting coming along I just remember being on the treadmill walking and trying to talk why out of breath lol and we just kept walking and before I knew it I did a whole hour and didn't notice it. I do know when to push myself and when to give myself a break. So far I am comfortable walking for 90 minutes while listening to my music and singing. At the gym they make it kind of easy because you can watch t.v while on the treadmill and next thing you know time flown by and I walked even further.

I get blisters regardless of the thickness of my socks. You can try thicker, but if it doesn't fix the problem, seriously look at the double-layer ones. They rub against themselves instead of your foot. And they'e the right material (not cotton) so your feet stay dry.

I also had athletic shoes that were comfortable that I wore all the time, 3 separate pairs by different manufacturers depending on weather/outfit -- worn everyday for errands, Jazzercise, neighborhood walks, hiking, and chasing 3 kids.

Then I got a treadmill.

The first few weeks were fine, and then problems started. First blisters, then muscle pain in various parts of my legs that quickly escalated to where I knew I was about to do some serious damage and needed to stop. (I was close to where you are, somewhere between 60-90 minutes/day a few days/week. Already in pain, I tried on dozens of pairs at chains including Big 5 and could tell in a step that they were going to have the same poblem. Desperate, I went to a small, locally owned running store. I felt silly because I don't run, but they were able to analyze my pronation and point me towards the right shoes on the very first try. I am a cheap woman but it was worth every penny. All problems solved immediately.

At the time I think my husband kind of thought I was being a drama queen, but many months later when he started using the treadmill too the exact same thing happened to him in his beloved Nikes. Back to the running shop and his problems solved immediately, too.

I also got religious about stretching, and make sure that I move the incline around. Someone will correct me if Im wrong, but I believe the pulling action of the belt at 0% is actually more like a slight negative incline off a treadmill.

Good luck!