How to Avoid and Treat Blisters While Hiking
- In This Quick Guide:
- Preventing Blisters
- Treating Blisters
Blisters and backpackers are like two old friends—rarely far apart. Almost everyone experiences these debilitating sores caused by skin-to-boot friction. But there are ways to prevent blisters and how to treat them if you do become afflicted. Here’s how.
Preventing Blisters
If you wait until the first mile of your hike to start thinking about your feet, it’s already too late. Here’s how to proactively stop blisters before they form:
- Break in footwear gradually, starting several weeks before your first major hike. Wear boots or shoes around the house and while doing yardwork, and take them on several practice hikes of at least 3 to 4 miles.
- If hot spots (painful, red skin irritations caused by excessive friction that can develop into blisters) develop, cover them with bandages and continue the break-in process to toughen up your skin.
- Experiment with several types and combinations of insoles and liner socks to find the most comfortable fit.
- Keep your feet dry. Change out of wet socks and use foot powder if your feet sweat a lot.
- Apply lubricants such as Bodyglide’s Liquified Powder to your feet to reduce the friction that causes blisters.
Treating Blisters
Because hot spots develop gradually, your first inclination will be to keep walking—but to prevent a full-blown blister (which will really slow you down), you need to stop and treat it:
- When you feel friction, stop to inspect your feet for hot spots, especially on the heels and toes.
- Clean the skin around the hot spot with a damp, clean cloth or an alcohol-based gel.
- Apply a self-adhesive cushioned bandage over the affected area and the surrounding skin. Common products available at drug stores include moleskin (a soft, feltlike fabric) or 2nd Skin. Secure the covering with several strips of tape or an adhesive bandage.
- Alternative: Cut a hole from the center of the bandage and place it over the hot spotcreating a raised “donut” of protection.
You ignored a hot spot and you discover a squishy sac on your foot—you’ve earned yourself a blister. Your main goal now is to save skin and prevent infection.
In some cases, you’ll need to deliberately pop an intact blister to drain the fluid inside. This technique—done with a sharp, clean needle or knife blade—prevents the blister from breaking on its own. To sterilize the needle or blade, place the tip in a flame for 30 seconds, or soak it in a solution of iodine or alcohol-based gel for five minutes.
Here’s how to treat a fully formed blister on your foot:
- If the blister is less than ½-inch in diameter and intact, clean the area and apply a large cushioned bandage over top of it. You might need to apply several overlapping layers. Secure with tape.
- For blisters larger than ½-inch, or sacs that are about to pop, puncture the base with a sterilized knife or needle and drain the fluid. Keep the loose skin flap intact. Clean the wound with a damp cloth or an alcohol-based gel. Careful, it’s gonna sting!
- To prevent infection, apply an antibiotic ointment and cover with a sterile gauze pad.
- Cover the pad with adhesive moleskin and secure with tape or bandages.
- Check the wound once a day to apply new, clean bandages.
Hopefully you will never have to deal with blisters, but if you do, now you know how to handle them. Good luck, and happy hiking!
From The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Backpacking and Hiking by Jason Stevenson
