It was so nice out yesterday (relatively speaking) so I decided to take a long walk. The sun was out, there was a bit of a breeze, and I had been cooped up inside all day. Everything was going great for the first 30 minutes but then I started to feel the onset of a blister on my left foot. Because I had walked 30 minutes away from my home I had no choice but to walk back. By the end of what started as a beautiful, pain-free stroll I had a blister the size of a quarter underneath my arch. It hurt like crazy! While I’ll take a day or two off from exercise to let this heal, I’m not about to let a blister get in the way of my favorite stress reliever. Here are some tips to help you (and me!) avoid blisters in the future:
- Blisters are caused by friction between your skin and your sock. Prevent this friction by wearing socks that wick moisture away. For some ideas, check out this link. If that isn’t an option wear two pairs of socks. I did this at the suggestion of my middle school basketball coach, and it seemed to work then but I usually don’t have two pairs of socks on me (I blame the elusive laundry gnome that steals socks; the number of pairs I throw in is always more than what comes out in the dryer).
- Throw some petroleum jelly in your gym bag or locker and apply to areas prone to blisters. This will help reduce the friction that causes blisters.
- If you start to feel a blister forming on a certain spot, stop and replace your socks with a dry pair. Wet, sweaty socks provide a great environment for blisters to form.
- Tape your hotspots. If you have certain areas you always get blisters on, cover those areas with tape before you exercise. I usuallyuse Band-Aids for this but other people have recommended moleskin or duct tape (is there much you can’t use duct tape for??). I believe there are also special Band-Aids designed for blisters, if you have used them let me know how they worked.
Do you have any other tips on preventing blisters?