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I have posted this before, and it may be of help to you.
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Blisters are a product of friction.... often referred to as shear force friction. The skin of your foot, and the sock that is in contact with that area of skin, are sliding and rubbing together.
Strategies for the prevention of shear force friction and blisters have changed and matured over recent years.
- A properly fitting shoe. In brief, it needs to be long enough and wide enough to accommodate any insoles, orthotics, metatarsal pads, etc, PLUS the socks that you will be wearing, PLUS the increased pressure on the feet from wearing a loaded pack.
- Light padded Merino wool sock designed for walking or backpacking, or the same type of sock in a good synthetic blend. A heavy pad on a sock allows potentially more movement against the skin, takes longer to air out, and takes longer to dry when washed.
- A sock fit that is snug and form fitting to the foot, but not gangrene-inducing tight. You want the shear force to be between the sock and the interior of the shoe, not the sock and the skin. A snug fitting sock will help to make that happen.
- Allow the shoe to move over the sock a bit. By keeping the shoes a bit looser on the feet, the sock will take the brunt of the shear force. If a shoe is tied snug, then that forces the foot to move more in the sock, which means the sock and skin are absorbing the shear force. An exception occurs on long downhill grades; the shoes need to be tied tight enough to keep your toes from hitting the front of the shoe which can cause injury and trauma to the nail bed and toe joints.
- While there are foot lubricants, from Body Glide and Hiker's Goo to plain old vaseline, they have a fairly short viable working span as the material rubs off of the skin and is absorbed by the socks. For prophylactic protection from shear force friction to blister prone areas on the feet, a long lasting barrier is the better option. The placement of tapes, like Leukotape P, or moleskin-type products, if adhered correctly, will last the whole day.
- To apply tapes and moleskin type products,
- Clean off the area of application with a bit of alcohol to remove grease, dirt, and body oils. A bit of regular hand sanitizer works for this, in addition to hand cleansing.
- Cut a piece of your chosen barrier material to fit the area you want protected; be sure to cut rounded corners rather than square in order to help the material from rolling up away from the skin.
- Apply a thin smear of Tincture of Benzoin to the skin area where the adhesive will stick. This will increase the holding power of the tape or moleskin.
- If the tape or moleskin, etc. is going on top of a blistered area, avoid getting the Benzoin on the roof area of the blister, and add a thin coating of ointment/vaseline onto the blister roof, avoiding the surrounding skin area. This will allow removal of the product without hurting the blister wound.
- Place the barrier on the area, taking care to not handle the adhesive; spend a bit of time rubbing the material to create friction so that the adhesive will heat up and adhere more firmly.
- At the end of the day, remove the barrier and use some alcohol to wipe the area that was covered.
- Since fungus (athletes foot) and pathogens splash around in showers, shower shoes are not necessarily preventative to one's feet being exposed or infected. It is helpful to use an alcohol or astringent product applied to the feet after showering.
Thanks for your reply davebugg,
Your post contains some great advice about blister prevention and I'm happy to report that I've been following some of the same methods you've mentioned.
Blisters on the Camino have become a bit of a fascination for me. I've seen so many preventative and treatment measures - some good, many bad - over the years and am curious as to what the breakdown of methods is prevalence-wise.
I always have to hold my tongue when I see people "threading" their blisters for example, but each to their own!
Why hold your tongue? Folks need to be gently made aware of good practices for blister treatments. Threading a blister is bad: it increases the risk of infection, It is not as effective as other strategies for keeping the blister from refilling, draining a blister should only be done if it above a certain size or uncomfortable while walking.
So, feel free to gently point someone to good treatment options.
These toe sock liners completely worked for me, and I never had a blister!Injinji liner socks with good hiking socks over them --- never had a single blister!
Nope, I don't let my skin toughen up. Blisters can form under calluses and they are worse! Other than the weird toe blister and another one on the side of my toe on my first Camino (the reason that I tried toe socks in the first place) I've been blister free.Well girls, we all know NOT to get a pedicure for a month before the start of your Camino. ......toughen that skin up!
Love
You know Injinji makes wool socks!Injinji light running socks as a liner under my wool socks.
Hi all,
I am a fan of the prophylactic and therapeutic dual purpose of zinc oxide tape (pictured).
I'm curious as to what methods of preventing blisters other pilgrims swear by and think it would be nice to get a breakdown of the popularity of each all together in a poll.
There have been lots of posts describing the rationale behind each already. This poll also excludes some of the pre-Camino steps one can obviously take such as: breaking-in shoes, carrying less weight, getting suitable footwear and socks, etc..
I may do another poll on people's preferences of blister treatment too
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I find the New Zealand product "Hikers Wool" to be the ants pants. As soon as you feel a hot spot, stop and place the lanolin rich wool next to the spot and put your sock back on. The wool is light and not a burden to carry
Ive tried Armaskin, lasted 460 km on Pilegrimsleden & all of Camino Primitivo. Seemed to work fine, & for me a convenient method. I wasnt in extreme heat however.I purchased these anti blister socks after a recommendation. I don’t usually suffer with blisters but there’s always a first time. I haven’t used them as yet to advise.ArmaSkin | Your Blister Prevention Socks
Extensive range of products for hikers and sports people. Liner socks to prevent foot blisters and a moisture controlling base layer improve overall comfort. Also no-bounce hydration belts and vests for runners and day hikers.www.armaskin.com
Yeah another downvote in agreement here. I tried toe-socks and ditched them on my first day as a blister began to form. After losing them and going pure thick merino only everything healed and was fine for the rest of the camino.They actually gave me a blister at the base of my big and second toe! Same thing happened to my friend.
You need to "mummify" your feet!taping or bandaid on hot spots does nothing, reason I get a blister at the edge of the tape/band aid so it only moves the location of blister
You wear the nylon socks under the Bridgedale socks?I wear thin liner sockets from Bridgedale and 40 denier knee high stockings( can be folded down and worn as socked when hot) and have not had a blister to 20+ years.
On the very rare occasions I get a 'hot spot' I immediately attend to it and put hikers wool in between the two layers thereby preventing the rubbing which causes the blister.
This happened on the VDLP a few weeks ago because my shoe had developed an uneven roughness in the fabric at the top of the shoe near where the Achilles starts and was beginning to rub ( the other shoe was fine and has not developed the same issue). With the hikers wool in place it no longer rubbed. Each morning I teased out the wool and replaced the same piece until after about a week was no longer needed and no blister ever formed.
Number one prevention is do not ignore hot spots they will only get worse, they won't go away in my experience
No, over the top...but under might work tooYou wear the nylon socks under the Bridgedale socks?
I've heard of people wearing the thin nylon socks as liner socks, but not over.No, over the top...but under might work too
I guess in a way they are both 'liner socks'. They both have no seams or edges or places that rubbing can occur and so act to prevent the things that make the blister occur.I've heard of people wearing the thin nylon socks as liner socks, but not over.
PS. Compeed does NOT belong on the voting list. It is not a prevention method and it's rarely even a good treatment method!
Okay... rant over
Last year while on the Camino from SJPD to Astorga I had blisters on my blisters until I abandoned my hiking boots. I switched to a pair of wool socks and Keen sandals (with the toe protector), hiking from Astorga to Santiago with a 35 lb pack, My blisters were gone by the time I got my compostella. This included the trek up to O Cebreiro in the rain. I couldn't believe it myself, but my feet healed while wearing these sandals. I don't do any hiking without them now.
Absolutely! Besides it's too expensive to use for prevention when simple tape or moleskin does the job.PS. Compeed does NOT belong on the voting list. It is not a prevention method and it's rarely even a good treatment method!
Okay... rant over
I used lamb's wool too and it worked perfectly for two trouble spots I had.My go-to option is not listed so I didn't vote.
It's taping around susceptible toes with micropore paper tape, and then adding lambs' wool around the two toes that are particularly problematic. It is my essential morning ritual.
Omnifix is essential too...in other places.
Absolutely! Besides it's too expensive to use for prevention when simple tape or moleskin does the job.
Podiatrist Rebecca Rushton explains how to use Compeed in this video.
Do you find your feet sweat more in those nylons?Nylon knee highs under my favorite socks. No blisters on 3 Caminos. Cheaper than liner socks and for me, more comfortable. This is easy and works well.
I walk for a living as a tour guide and this is my combo any time I have a long day or get new shoes or boots.
Just to clarify women’s nylon socks as a liner under good socks. I use smart wool.Blister prevention:
Vasque light weight boots one half size larger than your normal shoe size. Use good foot lubricant each night and women’s nylon socks. I’ve never had a blister in 5 caminos using this approach. Btw I have no affiliation with vasque other than I swear by these boots. Bien Camino
Yes, training to learn.The best blister prevention in my opinion is training.
@DerrybiketoursI walked France and Portuguese back to back with no blisters. I applied Gerwhol cream to my feet every morning before wearing two pairs of merino wool seamless socks, one light and medium guage then relied on what I consider to be best value for money walking shoe, Merrell Moab Ventilator (Avoid Goretex) and as others have suggested important to go 1/2 or full size bigger and listen to body. For example after around 15-18km mark I would experience hot spots on soles of feet. Stop immediately, remove socks and apply more cream. Thankful I have yet to receive blister and if I did I wouldn't know what to do and another more personal approach I had before I started walking I believed that my Camino would be blister free. Power of positive intention is worth consideration
Oh, and I should add, thick wollen socks.For me personally? Wet feet / soaked shoes. But do not try this yourself as my feet seem to be an exeption there ;-)
This is why I recommend that people set aside at least 3 consecutive days to walk 10 miles/16 km each day to see how their feet handle walking a long distance day after day.My training revealed my problem areas and hot spots.
I bandage the problem toes since, magic!.
I’m going to attempt this this weekend as i have a long weekendThis is why I recommend that people set aside at least 3 consecutive days to walk 10 miles/16 km each day to see how their feet handle walking a long distance day after day.
Make sure that you bring bandages/tape with you do that you can take care of a hotspot immediately before it turns into a blister.I’m going to attempt this this weekend as i have a long weekend
What is your preferred bandage tape?Make sure that you bring bandages/tape with you do that you can take care of a hotspot immediately before it turns into a blister.
Omnifix and Hypafix. They are thin and a bit stretchy so they conform to the shape of your foot. They come on a wide roll so you can cut the size and shape that you need. You do need scissors to cut it.What is your preferred bandage tape?
I did that for the August long weekend. I pretended I was in full camino mode, walking early in the morning, stopping for coffee and lunch, changing my socks, watching my feet (even taking pictures of my feet!), carrying my pack, washing my clothes in the sink every night... Those three days revealed all I needed (and what I could leave behind) more than any packing list and foot care I have ever read.I’m going to attempt this this weekend as i have a long weekend
I have bought these "dressing retention tapes" at pharmacies in Canada, but not every pharmacy sells them. The tapes are often used for home care nursing - taping surgical drains and dressing, so it might help to find a pharmacy that carries such products. Ask at the pharmacist's counter.These tapes are available in pharmacies in Spain, but here in the US I have to order them from Amazon.
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