Tape prevention
If you already know that you are prone to blisters, you can prepare the relevant areas of your foot in advance. Heels and toes are often particularly susceptible to blisters. High-quality tapes, i.e. moisture permeable adhesive tapes, are suitable for protection. They cushion friction against the skin and can therefore protect against blisters. However, they must be glued without wrinkles and well adherent. If they slip or form edges, they will create additional problems for the foot.
Treat blisters appropriately
Wound specialist Waldtraud Sendlbeck does not puncture small blisters. She recommends: It’s best to protect them with a special blister bandage so they can heal on their own. It is important that the plaster remains on the skin until everything has healed. Otherwise, there is a risk that the thin membrane that protects the wound will be ripped off. The situation is different with large blisters: piercing, yes, but correctly! “It is important to first treat the blister with a wound disinfectant before carefully puncturing it. To do this, you should only use a sterile needle or cannula and then carefully squeeze out the liquid. the entire area again and only when everything is dry is a blister dressing applied,” explains wound specialist Waltraud Sendlbeck from the Nuremberg Clinic. She recommends high-quality bandages that work like the clinic’s so-called hydrocolloid bandages: they connect to the top layer of the skin, absorb moisture and have a healing effect.
First aid kit in backpack
Therefore, anyone going on a long-distance hike or spending several days in ski or hiking boots should be properly equipped: the first aid kit includes wound disinfectant, a sterile cannula, and bandages for blisters of different sizes. Because it is very important that the wound does not become infected. “There is little tissue between the skin and bones of the foot, and if an infection spreads to a bone, serious health problems arise. This must be avoided at all costs,” says nurse and wound specialist Waltraud Sendlbeck. If necessary, you need to stop walking, even if it is difficult.
Prepare your body and feet well
The passionate walker is making his pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago again this year and is preparing for it. On shorter trips, Waltraud Sendlbeck also carries a full backpack. It’s not just your shoulders and back that need to get used to this effort, but also your feet. So this is also part of blister prevention. Of course, the fewer complaints you have on a longer trip, the better the experience will be.