# how can you get rid of blisters... fast?



## AlphaCharlie

The past weekend we did a 1hr 15min long ruck march (not terribly long, but still far none-the-less) and my ruck wasn‘t balanced super well so I have some pretty mean blisters on my heel. i‘m a bit gimped, but we‘re going to aldershot next weekend and I don‘t want to have blisters in the field... so how can you get rid of fairly bad blisters in 5 days? 

I have some epsom salt... i‘ve heard if you soak your feet in it every day for a week they get nice and tough? I also have some bandages but the last thing I want is to get a blad blister in the field.

Also, i‘m going to an orthopedic clinic on friday.. will having fitted insoles make a big difference?

thanks.


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## Padraig OCinnead

Friars Balsam has been used by many troops while on the Nijmegen marches and they were able to complete the following days march.

Administering it is the tricky part. It can do some good if applied directly onto the blister but we found that if squirted directly into the blister it worked fastest but with most discomfort in the short term. Perhaps 15-30 minutes then the pain goes away. By the next morning you‘re good to go. Get a buddy to do it for you cause you‘ll lose your nerve by the second blister.

All advice is non-professional since I am but a RadOp.

Slainte,

Goodluck


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## fusilier955

What I personally do is just try to keep my feet as dry as possible in the days following the formation of a blister, that way it will tend to dry up the liquid inside the blister faster.  I dont recomend poping them, that just causes (at least for me) the seperated first layer to come off in chunks and expose the tender layers underneath.  I find using bandages traps moisture and the blister heals slower, and when you are in the feild change your socks alot to keep them dry, and use the foot powder you can get through the system.


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## AlphaCharlie

Foot powder? I have a bottle of Gold Bond powder... would that work?

Also, are blisters formed due to moisture or friction in the boot?


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## GrahamD

I posted somewhere on here before about band aid brand blister bandages.

They work extremely well at covering and protecting blisters. They stay on really well in most situations (I‘ve found) except for swimming.  The only that fell off on me was while I was swimming the other day. They seem to say on quite well in the shower though.


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## AlphaCharlie

> Originally posted by GrahamD:
> [qb] I posted somewhere on here before about band aid brand blister bandages.
> 
> They work extremely well at covering and protecting blisters. They stay on really well in most situations (I‘ve found) except for swimming.  The only that fell off on me was while I was swimming the other day. They seem to say on quite well in the shower though. [/qb]


Thanks. My mom bought some Elastoplat things, but i‘ll look for the blister specific ones.


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## GhostRecce

blisters can be caused by both, friction and moisture. just keep ur feet dry and i‘d imagine since your doing your BMQ you have new boots which doesn‘t help since there not broken in

but other than that sounds like ur having fun    heh


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## combat_medic

Padraig OCinnead is right about the Friars Balsam (aka Compound Benzoin Tincture). It works, but has got to be one of the most painful substances known to man. When injected into a blister that has been drained, it will help the skin dry out the blister and settle down to normal. But, applying that stuff on an open wound will hurt like the end of the world... mostly because the stuff has a high content of alcohol. I‘ve seen grown men cry like babies when they‘ve had that stuff put on them.

As for prevention, lots of foot powder, good insoles, and a good polypropylene liner sock right against your feet will do wonders!


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## AlphaCharlie

> Originally posted by combat_medic:
> [qb]
> As for prevention, lots of foot powder, good insoles, and a good polypropylene liner sock right against your feet will do wonders! [/qb]


Can you explain these poly-whachawhoosit socks?


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## willy

They are liner socks designed to wick moisture away from your feet so as to prevent the blisters caused by moisture.  They seem to work well for most people.  I have found that they cause more problems than they solve, due to the fact that they are slippery, and they cause my feet to move around inside my boots, thereby causing friction blisters.  That‘s just me though, and the polypro liners seem to work for everyone else.


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## combat_medic

Go to the Mountain Equipment Co-op in Halifax:

1550 Granville St, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 1Z7 (between Blowers St and Sackville St)

And ask for these: Liner Socks 

Polypropylene (pronounced paw-lee-pro-pill-een) will help to draw moisture away from your feet and into your outer sock. This will keep your feet dry. In addition, they have a very smooth surface which will reduce the friciton inside your boots. Both of these properties will reduce blistering.

By using these socks, plus some foot powder, insoles and common sense, I‘ve never had a blister in my 5+ years in *touch wood*.


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## alan_li_13

What‘s Friar‘s Balsam? Is that some kind of home remedy or something i can get at the shoppers drug mart?


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## combat_medic

Friar‘s Balsam is not something that‘s extremely common. Your pharmacy might have some, but if they don‘t, you could speak to the pharmacist who might be able to order some for you. NOTE; I am not advising you use this, especially if you‘re just a cadet. I can‘t emphasize enough that stuff is CRAZY painful, and I wouldn‘t recommend it for someone unless they‘re either

a) tough as nails
b) stupid as heck
or
c) going to be marching a LONG time without stopping, without much rest and without the possibility of seeing medical help. Something like Nijmegen or Cambrian or SAS selection comes to mind.


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## alan_li_13

Lol, i see.

I‘m none of the three. Its just that my feet blister easily too.


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## Armymedic

You can‘t get rid of them

first off: prevention, but its too late for that now... 

second: keep the baby skin covered with the elastoplast tape (round the edges, no corners), soak with epsoms salts 30 min a day in the evening, and find a set of sock that work. The combinations are endless, but I do know that if your boots aren‘t broken in or you sock slip, then youre getting blisters.

The Friars balsam is good for immediate relief and recovery for marching the next day, but after a day or so its too late. Also as Cbt medic explained I wouldn‘t give friars balsam to my worst enemy unless they specifically request it because it is (trust me I have tried it) peel-you-off-the-ceiling painful.


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## AlphaCharlie

> Originally posted by combat_medic:
> [qb] Go to the Mountain Equipment Co-op in Halifax:
> 
> 1550 Granville St, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 1Z7 (between Blowers St and Sackville St)
> 
> And ask for these: Liner Socks
> 
> Polypropylene (pronounced paw-lee-pro-pill-een) will help to draw moisture away from your feet and into your outer sock. This will keep your feet dry. In addition, they have a very smooth surface which will reduce the friciton inside your boots. Both of these properties will reduce blistering.
> 
> By using these socks, plus some foot powder, insoles and common sense, I‘ve never had a blister in my 5+ years in *touch wood*. [/qb]


So if I wore these socks and then my issue wool socks over it would I be set to go?


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## combat_medic

AlphaCharlie: Well, your feet will probably still hurt from the previous blisters, but basic prevention will certainly make your life a lot easier, and make it harder to get them back. The socks will help you a lot. 

Ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.


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## Marauder

Just drive through the pain. If the worst pain you have is from blisters on your dogs, you‘ll survive.


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## Infanteer

> Just drive through the pain. If the worst pain you have is from blisters on your dogs, you‘ll survive


Ask Gate-Gaurd about that; I watched half of his foot come off in his boot, but he made the march....

FIDO


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## spenco

These are on the clothe the soldier website, the army version of the liner socks.  Why would you have to buy them on you‘re own?  Don‘t you get issued these?    

 http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/Chief_Land_Staff/Clothe_the_soldier/hab/2/2621_e.asp


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## willy

The original poster is on his BMQ at the moment.  Such pers do not receive the new kit.  The issued liner socks will come to him in time, but for now he is SOL unless he buys his own.  They aren‘t expensive anyway.

Masterful_Marksman: I don‘t think that is a good idea at all.  While it is certainly a good policy to cover blisters up as soon as they start to form, duct tape is not the best product to use.  The band aid blister dressings are good, as is moleskin.  These are products that are designed for treating blisters.  Unless there is nothing else available, I think you‘re asking for problems and infections by using crap like duct tape.


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## combat_medic

Masterful_Marksman: When the filthy-arsed duct tape glue gets into your skin and gives you an infection so bad you wind up in a hospital on antibiotics, remember me. Unless you were out in the back woods with feet shredded to hamburger and had to walk out to save your own life, putting duct tape over skin is just DUMB. Even if you‘re doing professional athletic taping, you still don‘t put it over bare skin. It won‘t stick properly, will sweat off, and will leave chunks of sticky crap to your feet which will get into a blister and infect faster than you can blink. 

Stupid stuff like that is what gets kids punted off courses - they think they can fix themselves and end up making things a hundred times worse. 

As for the issue poly-pro socks, most troops don‘t get them until after they‘re qualified, and they only cost about $5 a pop. Heck, I HAVE the issue socks and still carry a couple extra pairs for good measure.


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## AlphaCharlie

> Originally posted by spenco:
> [qb] These are on the clothe the soldier website, the army version of the liner socks.  Why would you have to buy them on you‘re own?  Don‘t you get issued these?
> 
> http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/Chief_Land_Staff/Clothe_the_soldier/hab/2/2621_e.asp   [/qb]


wow. those look spiffy. Can‘t wait to get those!

edit: also, im going down to MEC in about 5 mins to pick up a few pairs of these spiffy socks.

why am I saying "spiffy" so much? ahaahah


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## D-n-A

I got a pair of the USGI(Us Military issue) polypro socks, good kit, just need to pick up a few more pairs(either USGI or civvie made ones)


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## homerjsimpson

Stick a sterile pin in em, squeeze ALL the water out.
Air feet out and keep dry, drink beer and get ready for the next days 16 km march.


I mean drink lots of "WATER"....


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## scm77

I suppose these socks would help as well.

 http://www.lightfighter.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=16


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## lostgrenadier

Go to the Canex or local drugstore and look in the foot care aisle for something called moleskin. After you have popped your blister, put this over the area and it will absorb the friction which causes or aggravates blisters.Also, if you don‘t already, wear two pairs of socks. Wear a thin athletic inner sock with the issue wool sock over top. This will also help absorb the friction that causes blisters. Now suck it up and march on!


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## AlphaCharlie

> Originally posted by lostgrenadier:
> [qb] Go to the Canex or local drugstore and look in the foot care aisle for something called moleskin. After you have popped your blister, put this over the area and it will absorb the friction which causes or aggravates blisters.Also, if you don‘t already, wear two pairs of socks. Wear a thin athletic inner sock with the issue wool sock over top. This will also help absorb the friction that causes blisters. Now suck it up and march on! [/qb]


That‘s what do normally (cotton sock and then wool) but I bought some of the special socks reccomended above, plus moleskin and, AND some goldbond foot powder. I WILL be blister-free ****it.


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## D-n-A

dont use cotton socks as a liner


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## willy

I know a lot of people think it‘s pure heresy to wear cottons socks, but I actually find them better than anything else for use as a liner sock when marching.  I wouldn‘t suggest wearing them in the field, but I swear by them if I‘m going to march.


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## combat_medic

Cotton socks are nowhere near as good as Poly-pro, as they take forever to dry out, keep a lot of moisture against your skin, and don‘t do much to reduce friction. It‘s better than wearing a single sock, but not a lot better. As for moleskin, it‘s not always good to apply a huge chunk right over a blister. If the blister has popped and is draining, the fluid will either peel off the dressing, or grow in pressure underneath it. Second skin underneath moleskin is far preferred. If you have an unpopped blister, it often better to pad around the area, as it helps distribute the pressure on your foot better. Adding another layer on top of a blister just adds more thickness, and will increase the pressure and discomfort.


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## willy

My feet don‘t really sweat that much, and when I get blisters it‘s almost always because of friction alone.  I find that the cotton socks prevent friction better than the polypros, as if I wear the polypros my feet just slide around inside my boots like crazy, even though my boots do fit properly.  I think everyone has a different sock/boot/voodoo magic trick that works for them, and it‘s just a matter of trial and error to find it.


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## quebecrunner

If possible, put the moleskins before. it help me  finishing a marathon a few years ago... And blisters free!!!!

If you want advices, you can also go to a running store near your home. They have plenty of types of socks and also know what a blister feel, which is probably not the case of mountain coop counsellors.  

p.s. sorry for my poor english. 

jfg


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## Spr.Earl

I wear a tube sock plus issue sock‘s.
If you do get blisters,drain them,then Friers balsom OUCH!!,then mole skin.

Wearing two pairs of sock‘s stop‘s your feet from sliding in your boots and adds an extra layer between feet and boots and also put loads of foot powder in your socks and boots!!


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## AlphaCharlie

Thanks for the advice everyone (I hope it helped others too).

I‘m going on my ftx tomorrow and I hope I come back with some foot left...


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## Armymedic

I pre-tape with elastoplast, moleskin, or other thin weaved tape before long marches or anything else that would cause me blisters. I went for 5 days with the same taping with no problems...

AC after this, learn what works for you and you‘ll be GTG for life.


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## Cooper

I just pop them with a pin (or failing that some kind of sharp poking device), put powder on them, and put on a new pair of socks it stops hurting and the old skin makes a layer of protection for the new skin.


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## AlphaCharlie

Well it seems that no matter what socks I wear and no matter how much foot powder I put on, my feet ALWAYS end up soaked in sweat...   

It‘s getting kinda better though... I still get blisters but not as bad... I‘m worried for SQ, doing all the marching...


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## Jarnhamar

Spray your feet with anti-persprant before a march, you feet won‘t sweat as much.

Poping blisters with gerbers pins or knives are great until you get an infection in them and have to wear an IV bag with a little computer and battery in a fanny pack   

LCF goes way down.


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## Tebo

For blister removal I will drain all the liquid with a needle then apply a liberal wash of hyrdogen peroxide which is available in any drug store and costs next to nothing.

My feet sweat a great deal and polypropelene socks become sandpaper for me.  I have met at least three other people with the same condition.  So do a trial run before you head out for a long haul.

My personal snivel kit from Mountain Equipment Co-Op are these super  Thorlo socks.


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## RatDog

a note about the *Friar's Balsam * - this item is a liquid, and marketed as an expectorant (it's added to humidifiers for people with sinus/chest congestion). It was never designed to treat blisters. What Psycho came up with the idea of injecting it into blisters, I'll never know. And yes, all the stories about the intense pain are true, and then some. When injected into the skin, it fries the nerve endings, deadening them. Often this deadening is temporary, however there are people who have suffered permanent nerve damage to their feet. It's actually quite tricky walking on feet that can't feel the ground beneath them. This usually means a medical release. In past years, if a CF medic did the injecting then this qualified for a medical pension. However, due to a better understanding of the effects of Friar's Balsam, and the cases of permanent nerve damage, there was a Medical Services message put out about a year ago. It specifically stated that Friar's Balsam for blisters is not authorized in the CF. If a medic does do it, then they are going to wind up in a deep pile of fecal matter. Doing unsafe, unauthorized treatments is a real career stopper. As well as the legal ramifications that will come with it. If the treatment is not authorized by the CF then no medical pension, the soldier will have no other choice but to sue the medic that did the injecting.
SD


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## Armymedic

Thanks for replying to the topic 11 months late...Atleast I see you read part of the thread before you responded.

Notice my reply was prior to that direction, and this thread was dead in May, until you popped it up.

Again, I wouldn't wish friars balsam on skin thats not intact, on my worst enemy. It does however work well in sticking the ends of steri strips down. As for us as an expectorant, I have never heard of that, nor would I recommend it in that way...but now that warrents a bit of research on my part.


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## RatDog

My reply is 11 months late because I just registered yesterday, and this is the first time I saw the thread.  I read the entire thread before responding.  I am not trying to start an argument, simply pass on an *important* safety point. Most of the replies were good standard footcare suggestions.  However, the replies involving Friar's Balsam had me concerned enough to want to post a warning. They mentioned that injecting the Friars Balsam was painful but it works, and did not address the nerve damage aspect. 
Reply #1 "used by many troops on Nijmegen marches" and "works faster when injected". 
Reply #7 (supported reply #1) "when injected into a blister ... it will help". 
Reply #11&12 (suggested availabilty through Pharmacy) "wouldn't recommend it unless ... going to be marching a LONG time without stopping, without much rest and without the possibility of seeing medical help. Something like Nijmegen or Cambrian or SAS selection comes to mind". 
Reply #14 "good for immediate relief and recovery" and "wouldn't give friars balsam to my worst enemy unless they specifically request it because it is painful".
Friar's Balsam may have been used in the past as stated in the quotes above. However now a days, it is considered an unsafe and unauthorized treatment for blisters, and should be discouraged. Any medic that does it, is putting their patient at risk for something worse. Most people do not fully understand the risk of permanent nerve damage to their feet. The "quick-fix" might have career ending complications with long lasting health concerns. It can still be used to secure steri-strips on INTACT skin (not painful), but should not be injected (short of a life or death situation - the following are not life or death: Nijmegen, Cambrian Patrol try-outs, SAS/JTF selection).  I just called Shopper's Drug Mart and confirmed that they still carry this item as an OTC expectorant for humidifers. Many medics do not realize that this was it's primary function. Plus due to it stickiness, it is also used as an adhesive for things such as steri-strips. There are unfortunately people out there that think that Friar's Balsam is actually for injecting into blisters - but it was never meant for that.
Well this brings me to the end of my "soap-box" sermon. Again, I wasn't trying to start any problems, just trying to get the warning out.
Cheers


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## from darkness lite

Although not a how to get rid of blisters idea, I got this idea out of a backpacking magazine seven years ago and have no blisters since (just hotspots).  I coat my feet with roll-on anti-perspirent before the march, etc.

Has worked like a charm for me.  Also I use the black liner socks with the winter wool socks (I find my feet slip around in the boot with the green ones).  Do not use white cotten socks, they do not wisk sweat away (at least they don't work for me).

cheers


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## Island Ryhno

You can buy Runners Stick (I think that's what it's called) at The Running Room, it's much like underarm antipersperant but without any of the non essential junk. As a bonus you can put it on the insides of your quads to stop chafing ( I have very big legs  ) So that's what I use, anti persperant for the foot, poly prop socks then woolys, seems to work.


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## I_am_John_Galt

Island Ryhno said:
			
		

> You can buy Runners Stick (I think that's what it's called) at The Running Room,




"Bodyglide" ... it's the cat's a$$ ... also won't damage neoprene (if you have a problem with wearing a wetsuit).


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## old medic

I'm going to post this here, and probably have it moved out somewhere more visable later on.

I'd like to explain some of my thoughts for asking Mike to create this medical sub-board.
Before we had a spot to concentrate the medical threads, one could find postings on medical subjects 
in every board.  In fact, run a search on the word "medic"  outside of this sub-board, and you'll find 
73 pages worth of hits.  
Before the medical board, you'd have infantry asking questions about their med cats in the infantry 
board, divers asking medical questions in the navy board, medics discussing their units in the CSS board, 
recruits asking questions in recruiting, etc etc. 

I thought that bringing them all together into a common sub-board would first accomplish two things.

1 - make it easier for serving members and visitors to come to army.ca and quickly locate information regarding CFMS, CFDS, CFMG
and answer medical questions.

2 - Bring questions from Serving members, visitors and from other members of CFMG in a easy to locate area, so that we in the medical 
trades could easily answer questions and discuss topics without having to search all the other boards.

My third reason was currency and quality of information. Some of the threads I looked at were very old, contained dated
information, or worse... contained only replies to medical questions from non medical trades or contained bad advice.
I thought that bringing them together and indexing them by topic would allow all the medical types to go over these old
posts as new questions were asked. It would then bring them up to date with current and/or factual information. I saw this as helping
visitors to army.ca find good advice when searching threads.  

That all said, the point of this post seems to be: Just because a thread is old, doesn't mean we should ignore what's in it.


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