blisters: burst or leave alone?

fret_wimp

After a decent hike and breaking in my boots, i have a few blisters on my feet, one in particular on the heel.

i have to head out on a small hike next weekend, so want to have rid of the blisters by then. should i burst or just leave alone?

Podge2k7

Burst Them IMO!!!

Alun

Neither. Get some Compede blister plasters, they're fantastic.

DublinWriter

Burst - I've had a few recently and experimented by not bursting them.

If you don't burst them, the water inside the blister turns into horrible dead skin tissue after a week or two.

fret_wimp

wiki says this

The unbroken skin over a blister provides a natural barrier to infection. This means that you should try to keep blisters intact and unbroken in order to avoid infection.

i will try the blister patches as i have one here. if its still big by this day next week il just burst it.

Krusty_Clown

Burst them. Squeeze out the pus (ewweee).
Disinfect, then cover with blister plaster (compede etc.).

dogmatix

I'm a burster myself - followed by a plaster over burst site.

Roen

Just use a pin right at the edge of the blister and drain the liquid from the hole. It's only blood serum not pus thankfully.

Make sure you clean and disinfect both the area and the pin you use first though.

Then cover up with a Compeed.

You could also look at sock liners as well, I find them a great help.

fret_wimp

can you give a link to a page showing sock liners. im having difficulty finding an example of one.

Roen

fret_wimp wrote: »

can you give a link to a page showing sock liners. im having difficulty finding an example of one.

Sorry just twigged this now. Link here. Most outdoors shops do them, just ask about them next time your in. I find them great, no doubt there'll be an equal amount of people that find them useless though

MREGAN

Didnt see this thread when I started mine. The skin around mine was already cut when I got the sock off. I used compeed this morning so I hope it does the trick. I have an adventure race saturday which includes 50km bike ride 15km run 2km kayak plus other tasks. Should be fun with a blister covering the ball of my foot.

mayhem#

Pierce them at opposite ends with a desinfected needle, push out the plasma/fluid. then cover with Compeed patch. If they're really big or torn/ruptured it might also be wise to top the blister by taking all the loose skin of with a scalpel.

fguihen

its better in the long run to burst blisters if they are in an irritating place such as on the heel. once i burst they usually heal in a few days and cause much less discomfort.

wet-paint

Glue the loose flap of skin back down with superglue.