Don't even go there. It's an inherently dirty practice. Nylon wouldn't work, because it wouldn't create the wicking effect that is the aim of the 'procedure'. Just sterilise a needle with a lighter and drain the blister, or even better, as
@Charles Zammit recently advised, buy a sterile needle from a pharmacy.
First, agreed. Putting thread in a popped blister is suicide. S Yates writes about this in her book. Super fast way to get an infection.
May I humbly weigh in on this topic? I did get a slight blister- small on the side of my heel. I looked up on the internet medical sites and they say do not drain or puncture the blister (unless it is on the bottom of your foot - a walking surface). A new layer of skin grows under the blister and the sealed blister keeps it clean from infection. I knew from a recent dermatologist visit that for a cut or open wound, the best thing to do is clean it daily and put a dab of antibiotic ointment on it- even vaseline is very good, cover it with a band-air or dressing and change it every day.
So I cleaned the outside of my unpunctured blister with alcohol, and covered it with Compeed. Yes - really. I'm not recommending this though. What Compeed does is cover the blister with a plastic protector so you can keep on hiking. Compeed instructions say the blister will heal in a few days. This is a tiny blister, so I thought - okay, I'll try it. Yes, Compeed worked -for the moment- I could continue hiking in comfort because the plastic shield eliminated abrasion to the area. Problem is you cannot remove it because it will rip open the blister. You are able to shower with it on, no problem. Three days later, my blister is quadrupled in size, now a for real blister. I am very concerned. So at this point, I gently remove the Compeed, and of course tear open the blister. Great.
I then used antibiotic ointment to keep the open wound clean, covered it with a band-aid type dressing, and over that I put a layer of moleskin padding so I could walk. I changed this dressing every day. The blister healed slowly and without much pain.
So my advice is not to pop the blister, but let it heal by covering it with a protective antibiotic ointment or vaseline, and a band-aid. Cover that with a moleskin pad and keep hiking. If it pops on its own, fine, continue this practice. I would only use Compeed if I knew my hike was coming to an end in two days, and I would be home to wear sandals all the time and care for the blister.
Last advice about prevention. I was shocked and ashamed to even get a blister. Angry at myself. But here's the discovery. Perfect socks and perfect broken-in shoes are not enough. Your feet sweat more than you are used to, and the moisture is what gives you a blister in a half an hour! Advice is to stop every four hours of hiking, and air your feet and let your socks dry in the sun. After the blister -I also started using Sportslick or you can use vaseline to give your feet a light coating. I did that AFTER my blister incident, and I was fine the rest of the trip.
People here in this forum talk about using vaseline or other balms to prevent blisters, and I should have taken this advice. I learned the hard way that it is true - a light coating on your feet helps prevent blisters. It also does not allow super-tiny particles of debris which gets into your shoes to stick and cause abrasion that you don't even notice until it is too late.
This was a long message and I apologize for that, but it's another opinion simply based upon what worked for me.
Thanks to all who contribute on this topic, and Buen Camino!
Mike
