xterra rat said:
I am now on Fall BMQ 2004. I have really wide feet with a high instep. After two weekends I got this deep gaping wound on my right foot. (which is bigger than my left). It is right on the seam on the tongue of the boot on top of my foot. It is a bad purple wound. I have boild my boots, had them stretched at a shoe makers, and worn them soaking wet after hot water. The only thing that would make me quit the army is these boats. When I took my boots off at lights out, my section buddies saw my feet and said 'holy shi#@ go to the doctor'. When I showed BMQ staff, they did not care, and said "hey the army is hard on the feet". I am a real tough muther, but these boots make me cry.
HELP :-[
I'm a little unclear as to wear the wound is on your foot... one of the common ones is a pressure wound on the front of your ankle (Although pretty much anywhere on the *top* of your foot, this is the issue)... they can get pretty nasty if left un-treated... it's usually caused by either boots that don't fit, or boots that haven't been broken in... they also have a habit of getting infected...
Immediate action. Smear some polysporin on the wound, keep it as clean and dry as possible, and if it's "deep" and "gaping" go see a doctor. Right now. Or tomorrow. Either way, do it before you work again. Mostly because I'm neither a doctor nor a medic, and may be talking out of my rear, and because the phrase "Suck it up and soldier on" does not refer to potential long term injuries, only the immediate future. In short, suck it up until you can seek proper medical attention.
Follow up action. Depends largely on what your doctor says. If he reccommends that you don't wear combat boot until the wound heals, get him to put it in writing for you. If it's not severe enough to outright say that you can't wear combat boots, you may be able to just lace your boots differently. Criss-cross them as per normal, but for the "x" directly above the affected area of your foot, run the laces straight up underneath the eyelets, skipping that "x", continuing as per normal when you've got beyond the area of the wound.
Finally, if your boots are too small, you do realise you can just get new boots right? Make an appointment to go back to supply, you don't know how, ask your section commander, clean your old boots, bring them back and exchange them. Rule of thumb is two sizes below your civvie shoe size, if you've got wide feet, the boots do come in varying widths, just mention it to the supply tech, most of them are pretty knowledgeable about fitting, some aren't. Regardless, don't be afraid to try on a couple of pairs if the first one doesn't fit quite right... even if the supply tech seems a little grumpy (Just be respectful, as you would with anyone else who out-ranks you).
