Basic First Aid On The Trail: Blisters
How To Treat & Deal With Blisters On The Trail
Eventually while hiking or even simply walking a lot, one will experience a blister. A blister forms when something is constantly rubbing against the skin. This can be skin to skin, clothing to skin or even dirt to skin. Often times blisters are a source of pain or mild irritation and produce discomforting sensations. If not properly treated, blisters can develop into infections and become larger problems.
Preventing Blisters Before They Start
The best way to deal with blisters is to prevent them from even existing in the first place. The first step to prevention is two-fold. You want to wear proper socks that are going to take moisture away from your skin that fit well and don’t have any creases in them when worn. Wool socks are a great choice for a natural fiber which accomplishes this beautifully. The choice of footwear is the second facet. Correct footwear should obviously fit well but also be broken in. These two things will prevent most blisters before they start. You also should take off your footwear and socks every now and then to air everything out.
You can take prevention a step further and place dressings, tape, bandages or moleskin on areas of your feet that have been prone to blisters in the past. Keep in mind that if you let your skin properly wear at blister points, you will eventually develop calluses which will naturally protect you from blisters.
Treating Blisters Before They Become Bad
If you have done everything possible to prevent a blister but feel one coming on you still have options. You will need to keep monitoring the area affected. Typically blisters will begin life as a small red mark on the skin and progress into a bubble, then they will pop as friction continues. The big thing to keep oil mind is to prevent any type of infection after they have burst. Getting ahead of the natural pop is key. You can pop the blister with a sterile needle and control the opening.
By getting ahead of the natural pop, you are controlling the growth of the eventual opening. If you can keep the opening covered and sterile you should be good to go. Making sure that the area is dry and clean is a huge step in the right direction.
The End Goal
With blisters, the end goal is to minimize their impact on your performance and capability to remain healthy while moving. Infections aren’t something you want to have while removed from civilization, or at all for that matter. A large part of this has to do with how effective your first aid kit is. By having all of the tools you need to treat the blister, infections should never be a problem. Make sure your kit is stocked with quality items that are not past their expiration date. Anti-septic cream and bandages are the basic necessities for blisters. Moleskin is a great choice as well and very resilient to slipping off during movement.
