Key Points at a Glance
- Heavy manual labor, sports, or long hikes—perhaps in new shoes—are the conditions under which we develop calluses.
- Blisters on the feet and hands, however, are an unpleasant problem that you definitely want to avoid—or get rid of quickly once they appear.
- Blisters are always a sure sign that there has been too much friction on the skin.
- If you do happen to get blisters on your hands and feet, there are a few tried-and-true home remedies you can use to relieve the discomfort.
You’re probably familiar with that unpleasant feeling when, even while working out, gardening, or on a beautiful hike in the mountains, you get that unmistakable sensation in your hands or feet that you’re definitely going to get a blister. Preventing blisters with a blister patch—especially when wearing new shoes—is a good idea, but our skin doesn’t always cooperate.
Bubbles can't always be avoided
The truth is that, despite all precautions, blisters on the feet and hands unfortunately cannot always be 100 percent prevented. The shoes may be exactly the right size (a thumb’s width of space between the tip of the shoe and the longest toe), well-fitting socks that wick moisture from the inside to the outside, and perfectly fitting gloves for swinging a tennis racket or moving a rake—none of this is by any means a guarantee that blisters won’t form after all.
If this is the case—even if the blister is still in its early stages—you should, for example, avoid using a foot deodorant that inhibits sweating in that area. This significantly hinders the healing process and, in the worst case, can lead to more serious skin conditions. Much, much better: Get an antiseptic and apply it to the affected area. If the blisters haven’t broken open yet, rubbing them with hydrogen peroxide is recommended.
Open Blisters on the Feet and Hands: What Should You Do?
Once the blister has burst, it’s usually quite painful. Ideally, you should use tweezers to remove the loose piece of skin before disinfecting the open area. This prevents any remaining skin from accidentally tearing away from the wound. Either way, however, you should protect the open area well. The best way to do this is to use some gauze to prevent infection or even just skin irritation. This is especially likely to happen if you put on your shoes the next time without protecting the sore spot.
But that’s only one side of the story. There are also home remedies that can greatly support the healing process. First and foremost is aloe vera. Break open a leaf of the plant and apply the gel that oozes out to the blister. Chamomile also helps: Boil half a liter of water with three bags of chamomile tea, soak a piece of gauze in the liquid, and place the gauze on the blister for a while.
It is only advisable to pop a blister with a sterilized needle if it is large and about to burst. Afterward, you must disinfect the wound. If the blister becomes infected—whether or not you’ve punctured it—you should see a doctor. Signs of infection include redness, pain, pus around the edges of the blister, yellowish scabs, or a fever.
