BLISTERS

[Seán]

Blisters- how the **** do we deal with them.I remember my father telling'they used to piss on their feet' when they were in the army,directly after route marches,any body got a better and maybe more hygenic method.Started the camino from SJPP on Friday( 1 day early),here in Pamplona-my feet are in bits-anybody got any helpful ideas

 

[Sinenomene]

did you break in your boots before you started? How much weight are you carrying? send the nonessential items home. sometime during your hiking day break up the routine by taking a 15 minute break and take off your socks and turn them inside out and let them dry off. if you have moleskin you can create a donut and pad around the blister to let it go down naturally. many people like to duct tape blisters or smear vaseline on their feet or lance the blister with a sterile needle. The most important way to treat a blister is to acknowledge the hot spot as it is forming and treat it right area. take off boots and let dry. try a superlightweight nylon liner sock, even panty hose can work as a liner. keep your feet dry and reduce friction; your feet should be good to go. perhaps loosening your boots would be another solution to keep the fabric of the boot from rubbing your feet raw.

 

[Seán]

will give it a bash

sinenomene
boots are well broken in,could be the extra weight though,gonna go through everything tonight-throw out anything thats not needed,have tape,and vaseline,will see and will let you know in the next couple of days

buen camino

 

[Liv Marit]

Hola !

I know what you are saying. My feet were bad when I got to Pamplona as well. The good advice from Sinenomene should work. What I did was taking a short day after Pamplona, walking only to Cizur Menor, and my blisters could take some hours to heal, with the very good help from hospitalera Maribel Roncal, who had many years experiance and took care of my feet as an extra service.
The day after my feet were a lot better.

Take care, good luck with your feet, and buen Camino !

Liv

 

[justdoog]

Hola Sean,

Discarding weight will be good. You might also want to trade to a pair of running shoes that will be a lot softer on the feet, and wearing a liner sock in addition to socks (or even womens nylons in a pinch) will help move friction from your skin and boot to in between the sock layers. If you have tevas or other sturdy walking sandals give those a go. The way is not very rugged for a while. Otherwise, a day or two of rest might be needed. Don't ruin your trip just to get a few extra miles in!

Peace,
Doog

 

[paulmack]

Hi Sean

I don't normally get blisters, but with the heat on the Meseta last month I got enormous ones. On my left heel I had a blister on top of a blister on top of a bruise. Anything you can do to keep your feet cool will help.

If you go on to the British "NHS Direct" web site or the BBC health site, they say that you should never prick a blister but everyone does. I did all mine with the tip of a knife. You have to be VERY careful though, to avoid infection. Certainly dont borrow someone elses needle unless it has been well sterilised.

Keep trying, they get better!

Paul

 

[Dael]

Hi,
I would recommend putting on a covering of vaseline, then thin lining socks followed by good woollen socks (I use Bridgedale).
If I get a blister I prick and drain it then put on "New Skin". This is a liquid dressing which lasts 2/3 days per application.
Its better not to get blisters so at the first sign of discomfort stop and see what is causing the rub.
Re the urinating - this was used to break boots in and also as a first aid measure in coal mines.
Dael

 

[Dawn of a new Day]

I found this the BEST remedy once one gets a blister. I only got one 14 days after walking, in a good place (side big toe) take a sterilized needle with thread and stitch thru blister.Leave thread hanging out. if walking put a bandage over and at night take it off. mine were gone in one day.
dawn

 

[michael]

re blisters

I used to suffer from blisters even though I used to strap my feet with micro pore bandage. Someone pointed out that even though I was using the 'right' equipment I was defeating the purpose of avoiding blisters by wearing cheap cotton socks as inners not wicking synthetics.
I grudgingly paid out for thousand mile socks - yes it is a brand name - and no blisters even though my feet were not boot toughened.
I cannot recommend them highly enough.

buen camino

 

[mondrus]

I walked the Camino a few months ago, and suffered from blisters on the insides of my toes as well as a HUGE one on my left heel. I probably should have taken a day off but I didn't... I walked through the pain every day and eventually put some Compeed patches on them which helped significantly. While I'm sure some people are able to avoid blisters, some of us aren't... and walking through that pain almost makes the Camino that much more rewarding at the end. You'll never have too much that you can't handle... Buon Camino.

 

[wulf]

No blisters for me on my recent trip (one week). At the start of the week I did some taping of areas that seemed to have the slightest hint of rubbing. I was also scrupulous about taking a break and checking my feet if I thought something was developing and taking several breaks each day to air them out and give them a quick massage.

I think you have to be a little bit careful about walking on through the pain - you can end up adjusting your stride and thus producing secondary pains in other parts of the body, some of which could end up with longer term consequences (eg. putting more strain on your knees because of how you twist your feet when you put them down).

Wulf