? compeed type blister patches in Spanish pharmacies along the Camino Frances

[Bainbridge]

Do Spanish Pharmacies along the Camino Frances carry compeed type blister patches?

 

[SabsP]

Do Spanish Pharmacies along the Camino Frances carry compeed type blister patches?

Yes , do ask for " Segunda Piel ".

Compeed Compeed Ampollas Medianas Duplo

Compeed Ampollas Medianas está indicado para grandes ampollas localizadas en talones y planta de los pies. Su tecnología hidrocoloide actúa como una segunda piel, de manera que cura, previene su aparición y alivia de forma instantánea las molestias....

www.farmaconfianza.com

 

[CarolamS]

Not only are Compeed available in pharmacies but you will find vending machines that carry them on the Camino Frances.

 

[alexwalker]

Compeed is "big business" all along the Camino. All pharmacies will have it in variety.

 

[dougfitz]

My observation is that Compeed and other hydrocolloid blister dressings are the most widely mis-used medical products on the camino. I suggest you have a look at Rebecca Rushton's advice here https://www.blister-prevention.com/how-to-use-a-hydrocolloid-dressing/ if you haven't already. It will explain when and how to use these dressings, and offers some useful tips on how to keep the dressing attached to you and not to your sock.

 

[malingerer]

Compeed is "big business" all along the Camino. All pharmacies will have it in variety.

Hooray! Now, all you smarties, how do you get them off your nice merino/smartwool sox ?

I know about the meths trick, but am wary of the tootsies self combusting

Happy toddling or in my case tottering


Samarkand.

 

[dougfitz]

Hooray! Now, all you smarties, how do you get them off your nice merino/smartwool sox ?

Have a look at Rebecca Rushton's advice at https://www.blister-prevention.com/how-to-use-a-hydrocolloid-dressing/. Basically she suggests a technique for not getting it on in the first place.

 

[Former member 92300]

My observation is that Compeed and other hydrocolloid blister dressings are the most widely mis-used medical products on the camino. I suggest you have a look at Rebecca Rushton's advice here https://www.blister-prevention.com/how-to-use-a-hydrocolloid-dressing/ if you haven't already. It will explain when and how to use these dressings, and offers some useful tips on how to keep the dressing attached to you and not to your sock.

Her advice is mostly good - but I totally disagree with her on one point -
"There is an expectation that the hydrocolloid dressing alone will prevent a blister from developing and/or prevent it from getting worse. In fact, this expectation is wrong. Don’t use hydrocolloids for blister prevention – they are blister treatments."

Compeed works best when you have a hot-spot BEFORE it blisters. But you have to apply it and leave it on until it is coming off naturally. I know many physicians who agree with me on that point, including a couple experienced long distance hikers, one of whom is a podiatrist who does the Camino regularly. And hydrocolloid dressings are used frequently in hospitals on "hot spot" areas to prevent skin breakdown which can turn into bedsores.

The whole point of foot care is to prevent blisters and prevent deroofing of blisters. You do not WANT your blister to be formed and then once it is formed, you do not want it to be deroofed. You want the skin to remain intact so you don't end up with infections. Prevention of blisters is the most desired outcome of all foot care. Problem is - too many people wait until they have blisters forming before they use it. Then they peel the compeed off too soon.

Anyhow - I have had great success using Compeed to help prevent blisters. But better than using Compeed is having the right shoe/sock combination and whatever else works for you (i.e. vaseline) in blister prevention. But once I feel a hot spot - the Compeed goes on and stays on. If it doesn't and I have to keep walking - that is when the blisters form.


As for the OP's question - Yes, you can find Compeed in pharmacies and pharmacy vending machines.

 

[aidan macdhorcaidh]

Not only are Compeed available in pharmacies but you will find vending machines that carry them on the Camino Frances.

Yes but twice the price they are in UK....same for paracetamol and nurofen in oharmacied.....hiwever

Not only are Compeed available in pharmacies but you will find vending machines that carry them on the Camino Frances.

More expensive....than in UK

 

[martin1ws]

...
Compeed works best when you have a hot-spot BEFORE it blisters.
...

For this method you have to know that the hot-spot is "healed" with compeed.
If the hot-spot is not healed... compeed can make the problem worse, because you can't just pull the compeed off the skin if it doesn't work. (e. g. if the shoes are too small and this causes the hot-spot and cannot be healed by compeed -> blister can grow and burst under the compeed).

Because of this:
If you do not already know that compeed works for you for blister prevention... do not use it for blister prevention, but...

Have a look at Rebecca Rushton's advice at https://www.blister-prevention.com/how-to-use-a-hydrocolloid-dressing/. Basically she suggests a technique for not getting it on in the first place.

 

[Former member 92300]

For this method you have to know that the hot-spot is "healed" with compeed.
If the hot-spot is not healed... compeed can make the problem worse, because you can't just pull the compeed off the skin if it doesn't work. (e. g. if the shoes are too small and this causes the hot-spot and cannot be healed by compeed -> blister can grow and burst under the compeed).

Because of this:
If you do not already know that compeed works for you for blister prevention... do not use it for blister prevention, but...

I already addressed these issues in my post - you don't just peel it off. You wait until it is coming off on it's own. And you use it BEFORE you blister. You don't put it on a blister. You put it on a tender/reddened area BEFORE any blister can form. A "hot spot" is NOT a blister. And I already said - you need to do all the other preventative care like right shoes/socks to prevent a hot spot from forming in the first place.

 

[Graham Skinner]

About to do the Frances this July but do a lot of hiking on the Munro’s in Scotland for the last 20 years. Compeed, in my honest opinion is useless and I personally recommend this. Never had blisters and does not do what a number of pilgrims have said, sticks to your socks and comes away quite easily. Leukotape P has very strong adhesive properties. This IMHO, but one must use what they feel necessary.

 

[trecile]

For a hotspot I think that any kind of barrier will work, including a simple bandaid or tape. No need to use an expensive Compeed.
I use Omnifix or Hypafix tapes on my blister prone areas.

 

[lt56ny]

My observation is that Compeed and other hydrocolloid blister dressings are the most widely mis-used medical products on the camino. I suggest you have a look at Rebecca Rushton's advice here https://www.blister-prevention.com/how-to-use-a-hydrocolloid-dressing/ if you haven't already. It will explain when and how to use these dressings, and offers some useful tips on how to keep the dressing attached to you and not to your sock.

I had a few blisters on my first camino. I used Compeed and have sworn I will never use them again. Had a couple of blisters on my second. I drained them immediately and often. bandaged them with gauze and and Neosporin. I took it easy for a couple of days. Walked in my Toms sandals over half the time on those days. I stopped often and if there was even a small bubble I drained it and put on a fresh bandage and was fine in a couple of days. Haven't had a blister since.
Compeed not for me. I think it made my blisters worse. Just my opinion and my own personal experience of course.

 

[Former member 92300]

I had a few blisters on my first camino. I used Compeed and have sworn I will never use them again. Had a couple of blisters on my second. I drained them immediately and often. bandaged them with gauze and and Neosporin. I took it easy for a couple of days. Walked in my Toms sandals over half the time on those days. I stopped often and if there was even a small bubble I drained it and put on a fresh bandage and was fine in a couple of days. Haven't had a blister since.
Compeed not for me. I think it made my blisters worse. Just my opinion and my own personal experience of course.

They are not supposed to be used on already formed blisters. They can be used before a blister forms - or after a blister becomes "deroofed". But on blisters they do make things worse - especially if a blister can't drain naturally or the compeed is removed too quickly and it tears the roof of a blister.

 

[Former member 92300]

For a hotspot I think that any kind of barrier will work, including a simple bandaid or tape. No need to use an expensive Compeed.
I use Omnifix or Hypafix tapes on my blister prone areas.

Yeah - for blister prevention on hot spots - use what works. If bandaids/tape work for you - that is fine too. Compeed works best for me. Although - I tend to buy a generic brand.

 

[lt56ny]

They are not supposed to be used on already formed blisters. They can be used before a blister forms - or after a blister becomes "deroofed". But on blisters they do make things worse - especially if a blister can't drain naturally or the compeed is removed too quickly and it tears the roof of a blister.

Where were you when I needed you 11 years ago???? hahah I learned that the hard way. I did not take the compeed off myself. But it was sticking to my socks and made a mess of things. My method that I described, I used on my second camino and it worked fine for me. Since then I have not had one blister. Lots of caminos make you wiser about your feet and luck never hurts either!

 

[trecile]

When you think of how hydrocolloid bandages like Compeed work it doesn't make sense to use them on unbroken skin.

What Is in Hydrocolloid Bandages, and How Are They Used?

Hydrocolloid bandages are used to treat open, superficial wounds and open pimples. They create and support wound healing.

www.healthline.com

 

[K_Lynn]

Hooray! Now, all you smarties, how do you get them off your nice merino/smartwool sox ?

Turn your socks inside out. Pick off what you can. Curse the glue. Scrub soap into the glue. Curse again. Give up and hang to dry. Days later, come across a location with a washing machine. Wash them in a washing machine. Tada! Glue free!

 

[Former member 92300]

When you think of how hydrocolloid bandages like Compeed work it doesn't make sense to use them on unbroken skin.

What Is in Hydrocolloid Bandages, and How Are They Used?

Hydrocolloid bandages are used to treat open, superficial wounds and open pimples. They create and support wound healing.

www.healthline.com

Yes - they are great for deroofed blisters and that falls into their primary purpose. I never disagreed with that part of the original linked advice.

But I have worked with many doctors who also use it on successfully hot spots to prevent blisters from forming or on hot spots to prevent ulcers/bed sores from forming. And it works great in those circumstances too. I started using it after the podiatrist who also walks the Camino regularly recommended it for blister prevention. As long as it is applied early and BEFORE the skin starts separate and a blister begins to form and it is not removed too soon (before it naturally wants to peel away). It is the "in between a hot spot and complete deroofing" that it is most harmful... but before and after it can work great when properly used.

But for me - bandaids/tape never worked as well. My shoe/sock combination usually prevent blisters - but when I do get the rare hotspot - early application of compeed works best for me.

 

[J Willhaus]

I have used them on heel blisters on the Camino. They absorb the fluid that collects from the draining blister and usually come off on their own in a day or two in the shower. Yes, they mess up your socks, but for me they keep the blister from continuing to be irritated by my shoe and contain the drainage. I am familiar with the hydrocolloidal properties as we use these dressings in nursing care for skin wounds. They come in different sizes and thicknesses.

When back country hiking before my first Camino I would use a Telfa pad that doesn't stick to the draining blister, then a thin layer of gauze and then cover the whole thing with some duct or 100 mile an hour tape (which holds it more securely than medical tape and reduces rubbing). I had not seen Compeed brand for blisters in the US until only a few years ago.

 

[CarolamS]

I am fortunate that I don't get blisters easily. However I do carry Hikers Wool which is wonderful with hot spots. I've given away far more than I've used. It's very light to carry. I think the key is to be aware of your feet and treat them straight away if you feel anything is out of sorts.

 

[C clearly]

It is the "in between a hot spot and complete deroofing" that it is most harmful... but before and after it can work great when properly used.

Thank you - That makes sense and fits well with my experience, explaining some of the conflicting advice/opinions we see.

Using Compeed for hot spots or blister-prone areas can get expensive. A good alternative would be the type of stretchy lightly-adhesive gauze "dressing retention tape" such as Omnifix.

 

[trecile]

Using Compeed for hot spots or blister-prone areas can get expensive. A good alternative would be the type of stretchy lightly-adhesive gauze "dressing retention tape" such as Omnifix.

Or moleskin if you want a little bit of cushioning.
In fact you can make a "donut " with moleskin with the hole in the middle larger than the hotspot. Then cover the entire area with Omnifix over the moleskin.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Or moleskin if you want a little bit of cushioning.
In fact you can make a "donut " with moleskin with the hole in the middle larger than the hotspot. Then cover the entire area with Omnifix over the moleskin.

I really like moleskin for hot spots and is much less expensive than compeed. In a pinch I've used duct tape as I bring a bit wrapped around a plastic pen for emergencies, but it can leave a bit of residue on your sock, so Omnifax sounds better.

 

[BruceNZ]

Or try Compeed anti- friction sticks...looks like a deodorant stick. Apply before walking to any suspect or potential blister spot. Brilliant.
If toes are the problem try Creepers toe Sox from NZ. Merino and super comfortable. Wash b4 use butvthat applies to all socks.

 

[Former member 92300]

I have used them on heel blisters on the Camino. They absorb the fluid that collects from the draining blister and usually come off on their own in a day or two in the shower.

I am guilty of putting them occasional blisters too - but only the small but thicker ones that I am not worried about popping or ripping (they are more like calloused blisters).

When back country hiking before my first Camino I would use a Telfa pad that doesn't stick to the draining blister, then a thin layer of gauze and then cover the whole thing with some duct or 100 mile an hour tape (which holds it more securely than medical tape and reduces rubbing). I had not seen Compeed brand for blisters in the US until only a few years ago.

Yeah these are things I used to do before I knew about Compeed. I like Compeed better now though. (for me). One of the reasons I like it best is because the place where I am most likely to blister is on a boney/bunion - and the cushioning of the compeed is perfect over boney spots.

Thank you - That makes sense and fits well with my experience, explaining some of the conflicting advice/opinions we see.

Using Compeed for hot spots or blister-prone areas can get expensive. A good alternative would be the type of stretchy lightly-adhesive gauze "dressing retention tape" such as Omnifix.

Good suggestion! I haven't used Omnifix - but I have seen it before.

Or moleskin if you want a little bit of cushioning.
In fact you can make a "donut " with moleskin with the hole in the middle larger than the hotspot. Then cover the entire area with Omnifix over the moleskin.

I haven't had good luck with moleskin sticking - but maybe with Omnifix over it might work better for me.

I am fortunate that I don't get blisters easily. However I do carry Hikers Wool which is wonderful with hot spots. I've given away far more than I've used. It's very light to carry. I think the key is to be aware of your feet and treat them straight away if you feel anything is out of sorts.

I didn't have hikers wool with me last year - I did grab a little wool off one of the barbed wire fences though when I didn't have any Compeed.

Yes - prevention and early treatment are key!

 

[dougfitz]

Compeed works best when you have a hot-spot BEFORE it blisters.

I don't have the technical understanding to debate this point. I can only note that applying a hydrocolloid dressing to intact skin seems completely counter-intuitive because there is no wound to dress. All the explanations you have provided indicate to me that all one might be doing is padding the hot-spot, and using a hydrocolloid dressing is a very expensive, and quite unnecessary way of doing that. More, your advice is reliant on the individual being sufficiently disciplined to maintain the dressing in place until it detaches itself. Even when hydrocolloid dressings are used properly, ie on a de-roofed blister to treat an open wound, I regularly see people who want to remove the dressing and replace it with a new dressing. Exactly the opposite of the recommended dressing procedure.

@jeanineonthecamino, you might defend your approach with reference to unnamed medical specialists. When I see a suitably qualified practitioner publicly recommend a particular approach, I am more inclined to follow that advice than that of some un-named individual who hasn't publicly shared the advice you appear to be relying upon.

The other things you are suggesting here make sense, and are consistent with what I have read over the years as good blister prevention and treatment practice. What you suggest on the use of hydrocolloid dressings on hot-spots doesn't.

 

[Jan Jones]

If you are in Australia or New Zealand you can purchase “hikers wool“ at hiking shops ( Paddy Palin definitely has it) . It is very light weight , you only need a small amount and it is wonderful for preventing hot spots from turning into blisters - use it as soon as you feel the hot spot. A little goes a long way.

 

[Sidknee]

Have personally found the Spanish pharmacists on the various caminos to be “world” experts on the treatment of blisters. That makes sense, given they treat or provide treatments for so many.

if you sadly are impacted by blisters while walking, it’s really worth a visit to a pharmacy for guidance and treatment advice, particularly if you don’t come with the specific knowledge to treat them.

As indicated by multiple contributors, prevention is the best medicine. Heaps of valuable advice on that In this and other threads.

Buen Camino

 

[tolmanrn]

Have a look at Rebecca Rushton's advice at https://www.blister-prevention.com/how-to-use-a-hydrocolloid-dressing/. Basically she suggests a technique for not getting it on in the first place.

I will never again use comped. It simply will not come off without taking some skin with it.

 

[hikentravel1234]

My observation is that Compeed and other hydrocolloid blister dressings are the most widely mis-used medical products on the camino. I suggest you have a look at Rebecca Rushton's advice here https://www.blister-prevention.com/how-to-use-a-hydrocolloid-dressing/ if you haven't already. It will explain when and how to use these dressings, and offers some useful tips on how to keep the dressing attached to you and not to your sock.

I agree. I would only use them, if at all, on an early red spot type blister. On my first camino, there was a lady who used them on both of her feet. The only way she could get them off was to tear off the skin. She had to seek medical care and could not walk for 2 weeks!!!

 

[J Willhaus]

You are supposed to wait until it falls off, not take it off. When it absorbs fluid from the wound, it will come off on its own. The compeed website has a lot of information about its correct use. As I said earlier, in nursing we use this kind of dressing (much larger though) for various other kinds of pressure sores.

 

[Former member 92300]

You are supposed to wait until it falls off, not take it off. When it absorbs fluid from the wound, it will come off on its own. The compeed website has a lot of information about its correct use. As I said earlier, in nursing we use this kind of dressing (much larger though) for various other kinds of pressure sores.

Yep - this is what people don't seem to understand. It isn't supposed to be peeled off. It is supposed to come off on it's own. I have applied countless hydrocolloid dressing to patients too... they work great when used properly.

More, your advice is reliant on the individual being sufficiently disciplined to maintain the dressing in place until it detaches itself. Even when hydrocolloid dressings are used properly, ie on a de-roofed blister to treat an open wound, I regularly see people who want to remove the dressing and replace it with a new dressing. Exactly the opposite of the recommended dressing procedure.

Doug - do what you want to do. That is fine. I don't care what you do. I am sure you know what works for you. Stick to it.

The OP asked about COMPEED so my reply was about COMPEED and not some other way to treat/prevent blisters. Since the OP asked specifically about Compeed - I felt the need to chime in that I disagree with the person in your referenced article on ONE point that she made. The rest of her guidance is fine - but I disagree that it can't be used as a preventative aid. Like Wilhaus - I am a nurse who has taken many doctors orders regarding wound care, and have applied a multitude of dressings to a multitude of wounds and "hot spots" over the last 30years, but my replies are specific to blister care/prevention. I am not going to name my physicians I work with or physician friends who use hydrocolloid dressings for open wounds as well as for hot spots because I don't have permission to name them on a public forum. Do you post the names of people who haven't given you permission to post their names? And yes - for a hot spot - padding does play a huge role, as does reducing friction on an already irritated area. And yes - there are other ways to do that. But the OP asked about COMPEED. My point was simply I disagree with the person in your article that compeeds are not useful in preventing blisters. That simply isn't true because they work well for MANY people, I never said it is the ONLY way to treat blisters. I never said it is "better" than other ways. I never said it was a cheap way to treat blisters. I never said anyone has to use Compeed. But it does work for prevention - as long as people apply them early before blisters begin to appear and they don't pull them off before they are peeling off on their own. And for some of us - it works better than other methods of treating a hot spot. We all have to use what works for our feet. I used a lot of other methods of blister prevention - and compeed is the one that works for me and many other people. Not everyone. But it does work for many. And yes - part of why they work is the padding and preventing friction and no - it is not the only way to achieve that. But for some - it works better than the moleskin or duct tape or leukotape or bandaids or gauze or wool or whatever in a long list of ways to treat a hot spot. And for some - it doesn't work at all and another method works better. We all have to use what we find works for us.

But why do I bring this up over and over again? Because as you stated - using Compeed CORRECTLY is essential - and the most important thing people need to know is don't apply it to a blister (roof intact or roof torn) as the lady in your link stated. But you can put it on a hot spot early - before blistering begins - or you can put it on a deroofed wound. Either way you must keep it on until it is peeling off on it's own. If people like me and others don't stress this over and over - then newbies will keep putting it on already formed blisters and they will keep peeling it off forcefully - creating worse injury to the area. Don't believe me? Just read through this thread to see how many replies are people who did just that.

Again - not the only way to treat a hot spot. As you can see in my other replies to other people - not arguing anything except the one point .

 

[PeterT1]

My observation is that Compeed and other hydrocolloid blister dressings are the most widely mis-used medical products on the camino. I suggest you have a look at Rebecca Rushton's advice here https://www.blister-prevention.com/how-to-use-a-hydrocolloid-dressing/ if you haven't already. It will explain when and how to use these dressings, and offers some useful tips on how to keep the dressing attached to you and not to your sock.

Thank you for that information that article was a real eye opener. If I hadn’t read that and got a blister on my upcoming first Camino I would have done completely the wrong things.

 

[David61]

I got really bad blisters and stopped at a farmacia and a lovely lady gave me advice on what to do and which products to use and although the shop had a large Compeed display she was stood next to she never mentioned it.