Surgical Spirit - The Elixir of Life

[Frank66]

Ok, I admit the title was a bit random to generate some interest.
My Camino is in May this year so most of my thoughts are to do with all things feet-related! One of my work colleagues treks quite regularly and has advised me to 'treat" the soles of my feet and in-between toes with surgical spirit nightly, for about a fortnight before my adventure begins. This will harden them up for the pleasures that lie ahead. Any thoughts/experiences with this??
Ps I've already bought it, so if its no good for feet it could be the basis of a fairly interesting cocktail!

Thanks in advance,
Frank

 

[dougfitz]

Ps I've already bought it, so if its no good for feet it could be the basis of a fairly interesting cocktail!

That could give new meaning to being dead blind drunk!

 

[wayfarer]

I have heard of this before, it was very popular in my parents time but I have also heard that it can make you feet hard and prone to cracking of the skin. I do not know the real answers to this but I would recommend a product called "Gloves in a Bottle", available from Boots, and I have found this to be excellent for preventing blisters, for those coming from Australia, a similar, and in my opinion a better product, is SILIC15.
I have also been told that ordinary Vicks is as good as anything.
Buen Camino.

 

[GreatDane]

I have heard of this before..

I've also heard to soak your feet in tea every evening and they'll toughen up. I've tried neither.

 

[wayfarer]

I've also heard to soak your feet in tea every evening and they'll toughen up. I've tried neither.

I have also heard this, its an old remedy as well.

 

[Peterk]

My daughter, who is a podiatrist, advised me to use moisturising cream on my feet nightly but in between toes use surgical spirit. It has worked a treat on many levels, preventing ailments and ensuring healthy, happy toes!

 

[Sixwheeler]

I'm lead to believe that Surgical Spirit was the 'go to' solution for foot sore squaddies doing their National Service back in the 1950s. I've tried it although I never quite did NS and can't say it helped me much.

Ultreïa

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Lemon also works.

 

[annakappa]

I've also heard to soak your feet in tea every evening and they'll toughen up. I've tried neither.

That's what I do. It certainly toughens up the feet. I've never had dry, cracked feet, but could be because I always use Vaseline on the feet each morning before starting out walking.

 

[Robo]

Many moons ago in my previous life in the military we used to do this.

And I seem to recall always getting blisters . But maybe it was due to the awful boots ?

I thought about it for pre Camino preparation but didn't. I was fine. No blisters. Used lots of Vaseline.....double socks etc etc

Current thinking seems to lean more toward keeping the feet soft, rather than hard...

 

[Wokabaut_Meri]

Hi Frank
Welcome to the Black Arts of Caring for your Feet... there are many potions and remedies available and they work differently on various people in varied situations. Over the years I've both seen and tried many methods and a few times used the tea and betadine skin toughener favoured by ultra marathon runners. It worked a treat.

One of my experiences with surgical spirit was watching a doctor pour it over a mate's horrendously blistered and macerated feet. Once the screaming and threats of litigation stopped, and with a day's rest, he was able to complete his walk. Effective but not recommended! Surgical spirit or any other astringent solution - witch hazel/tea/wine (leftover)/tincture of benzoin/vinegar - will all have a similar drying effect. If this works for you, do it. You have quite a bit of time to experiment before you go.

My bible is a book called Fixing Your Feet by Jon Vonhof now in its 5th edition.

Recommend it both for those interested and serious about foot care. It contains such gems as:
We are each an experiment of one and
What works for you may not work for the next person and what works for you now may to work for you next time.

That's the best advice that I can give you.

Wishing you happy and healthy feet and a Buen Camino.

 

[jppreston]

I have used Trail Toes with a lot of success.

 

[Bradypus]

Not convinced. I'd try to make a couple of practice walks of roughly the daily distance you are aiming for on the camino - wearing the boots and socks you plan to use. That should show up any problem areas. If there is only minor irritation you will probably form callouses over the hotspots very quickly. If there are big problems consider changing your socks/shoes/boots. Drying out your skin with neat alcohol sounds like a recipe for hard but brittle skin and deep nasty cracks at some stage along the way.

 

[CathyJ]

One of my experiences with surgical spirit was watching a doctor pour it over a mate's horrendously blistered and macerated feet. Once the screaming and threats of litigation stopped, and with a day's rest, he was able to complete his walk. Effective but not recommended!

My son spent many years rowing and methylated spirits was used on their hands for blister prevention. And, they also poured it onto their open blisters! Arrrgh!!
I'm with @jppreston, Trail Toes for me