What do you do if you have a bad blister on the bottom of your foot

I believe that the more you can expose your blistered

feet to the air the faster you will heal. They may not

be possible due to work/school or whatever, but if you

have the time it will probably help.

When you are at home go barefoot or wear light sandals

as much as possible. Moisture will not help and bandaids

will cause moisture as will socks and shoes.

Ice it. Rub a cube on it. The more you ice it, the faster the skin will thicken and heal.

Use white athletic tape on it when running (the stuff that breathes). It comes on a small roll and can be found at most drug stores as about 1 inch wide. It can be torn into thinner strips if needed and is the only stuff (including moleskin) that actually sticks when running. This can be worn when showering and during the day as long as your blister is not wide open. If that is the case then you can use the tape during running but need to take it off (carefully) when not running. Keep neosporin on it during the day (to aid in healing and avoid infection) and keep it dry at night.

The blister is actually wide open. It is about an inch wide in the middle of the ball of my foot and it hurts like hell. I guess I'll try not to run on it today and ice it in hopes that it will heal.

I was planning on running a 20 miler on Sunday so it's worth taking off today if I can get it better by Sunday.

There is a Dr. Scholl's pad that may help. It is about 3 inches square with some adhesive on one side. Cut a piece a little bigger than the blister. Then cut a hole in the middle the size of the blister. You will be left with a donut shaped pad. Put this on your foot so that the pad surrounds your blister, but does not touch the blister. Use tape to secure further if needed. This should help keep pressure off of the actual blister.

Epsom salt soak - dry for a few hours - repeat.

Also, keep it exposed at night, and it should be good to go by Sunday. Also, some NuSkin might help in the short-term to get some running in.

Dude, I have the solution. Cover the thing in liquid bandage and then wrap duct tape around your foot and over the blister. It's the only thing that will stay in place with the running and sweating. When not running, let it breath in the open air. (medical tape breathes but will never stay put and you can suffocate it for an hour). Also, the slightly toxic chemicals in the stick substance of the tape illicit an immune response that helps your body heal the blister faster and not get infected. They use this technique in the eco-challenge race. Don't forget the liquid bandage though, otherwise it hurts alot more to remove the tape.

I see people have mentioned NewSkin. An old bowling trick is to rebuild the thumb with NewSkin and cotton. It works wonders. It's like not having a blister at all. You might try that on your foot but I've never done it.

The first thing is to determine what caused the blister. If it's your shoes then it's going to continue to get worse until you get some different shoes. In the meantime let some air get at it. Also try not to aggravate it and stay off your feet as much as possible.

First off, get some neosporin or antibiotic cream to put on there when you aren't working out. Have a bandaid on it or guy buy some New Skin (the spray on stuff). And if you have a trainer, go to them and have them make you a donut (foam cutout that looks like a donut). It should raise your blister off the bottom of your shoe just enough so that it won't bother you but also not enough to alter your stride. Afterwards...ice, and neosporin.

I don't meant to discount everyone's suggestions, but I'm telling you, the only thing that will stay in place is duct tape. bandages, medical tape, donuts, even newskin alone will be out of place in 2 mins.

Wow, you're eloquent..and mature. Apparently some people didn't hear that the first time because subsequent posts suggested similar remedies. If you doubt this, prove me wrong.

p.s. Hey "I doubt that" check out:

www.anger-management-techniques.org/anger-management-tips.htm

Don't pull thskin off as it acts like natural bandage. Wipe the area down with alcohol. Sterilize a pin and poke a tiny hole on the side so the fluid comes out. Then wipe again with alcohol. NEVER PULL THE SKIN OFF EXPOSING THE GRANULATION UNDERNEATH..drain it only if you are going to run in it whcih I assume you are goin gto.

Cut your foot off. It's over. Put the dog out of it's misery.

Alan

bump, I'm a college runner right now, fresh of a nice PR. I have a horrific blister on the ball of me foot under my first three toes (starting with the big toe). Any other suggestions so I can keep training and not lose any momentum?

I had a really bad one a few years ago. I peeled the skin off which left it exposed. Bad idea. The blister formed a dime sized indent on the middle of the bottom of my foot. It got all infected and after every run I would have to throw away my yellow and red stained sock. You can run on it if you can bear the pain and make sure it doesnt cause you to mess up your stride. Mine took at least 2 weeks to descently heal.

You can carefully drain it if it hasn't popped yet. Sterilize a needle in rubbing alcohol, and use rubbing alcohol to sterilize the bottom of your foot. Then, poke the needle in to some good skin--i.e. NOT RIGHT OVER THE BLISTER-- and run it sort of parallel to your skin. Ever do that trick in elementary school where you stuck a needle through the outer layer of skin and made it look like it was stuck in you? Same thing, except you want to tunnel down into the healthy callused skin, and then come up underneath the blister. Use that hole to drain the fluid, then put some neosporin or whatever over the small needlehole. Do your best not to allow the blister to pop, otherwise it hurts a LOT more and will get infected, probably.

The pocket of skin does no harm--it's the fluid inside. Heck I remember warming up for a big track meet, finishing my warmup routine, draining a blister on the ball of my foot, and spiking up! Didn't hurt at all.

After reading through this post (and others) and dealing with a blister I've had for a few days after playing b'ball (I run a lot too), this is what worked for me. The first couple of days, I tried antiseptic spray and some gold bond and bandages without much luck. Last night, I did an Epsom Salt soak (30 min), air dry (30 min.), then very painfully applied 3 layers of new skin (active ingredient is an antiseptic). It made me want to cuss. Then, I put neosporin on top (I had stayed away previously because of the post that it slows healing) and then a band-aid over top (tough strip). I woke up this morning, put my foot on the ground, the sky opened, and the angels started singing... hope restored. I think the cleanse, the seal, and the neosporin combined did the trick.

Love the orthofeet Sandals. I have severe Plantar Fas. And cannot walk with bare feet. These sandals have changed my life. I even have a pair just for the shower. Your site is very user friendly and check out was easy. Have worn the Sandals now for one week and boy do they help the foot pain. It does take some time to get used to the support rubbing the toe, but an easy fix. The sandals are very firm, and that must be the reason it helps the foot. Wear them throughout the house.